{{Short description|American baseball player (born 1984)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Casper Wells | image = Casper Wells 2012.jpg | caption = Wells with the Seattle Mariners | position = Outfielder | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|11|23}} | birth_place= Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. | bats = Right | throws = Right |debutleague = MLB | debutdate = May 15 | debutyear = 2010 | debutteam = Detroit Tigers |finalleague = MLB | finaldate = September 28 | finalyear = 2013 | finalteam = Philadelphia Phillies |statleague = MLB | stat1label = Batting average | stat1value = .230 | stat2label = Home runs | stat2value = 25 | stat3label = Runs batted in | stat3value = 81 | awards = | teams = * Detroit Tigers ({{mlby|2010}}–{{mlby|2011}}) * Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|2011}}–{{mlby|2012}}) * Oakland Athletics ({{mlby|2013}}) * Chicago White Sox ({{mlby|2013}}) * Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|2013}}) }} '''Casper Charles Wells V''' (born November 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies from 2010 to 2013. He played college baseball for the Towson Tigers before the Tigers selected him in the 2005 MLB draft.
==Amateur career== Wells attended Schenectady High School in Schenectady, New York and Towson University, where he played college baseball for the Towson Tigers.<ref name="mmillertbs">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Mike |date=October 2, 2010 |title=Former Towson star returns to Baltimore with Detroit |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-casper-wells-tigers-1002-20101001,0,5534845.story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117151036/http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-casper-wells-tigers-1002-20101001,0,5534845.story |archive-date=2013-01-17 |work=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref> He was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association team in 2004. He was the conference player of the year and named a second-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Towson Baseball Record Book |url=https://towsontigers.com/documents/2025/1/22/Baseball_Record_Book_-_2024_COMPLETE.pdf |publisher=Towson Tigers |pages=13, 14}}</ref> He was also a pitcher in college, earning 3 saves in 2003 and going 6–0 with a 4.97 ERA as a starter in 2005.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Casper Wells |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/38930/ |access-date=October 13, 2025 |website=The Baseball Cube}}</ref>
==Professional career==
===Detroit Tigers=== [[File:Caper Wells (2011).jpg|thumb|left|150px|Wells at bat in Dodger Stadium]] The Detroit Tigers selected Wells in the 14th round, with the 420th overall selection of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft. The Tigers promoted Wells to the major leagues on May 14, 2010, replacing pitcher Alfredo Figaro.<ref>{{cite news |last=Iott |first=Chris |date=May 15, 2010 |title=Casper Wells to make major-league debut for Tigers tonight against Boston |url=https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2010/05/casper_wells_to_make_major-lea.html |access-date=2011-07-01 |publisher=Mlive.com}}</ref> Wells returned to Toledo on May 21<ref>{{cite news |last=Henning |first=Lynn |date=May 22, 2010 |title=Casper Wells sent down, Tigers recall Ryan Raburn |url=http://www.detnews.com/article/20100522/SPORTS0104/5220374/Casper-Wells-sent-down--Tigers-recall-Ryan-Raburn |access-date=2010-05-22 |newspaper=Detroit News}}</ref> but was recalled to Detroit on August 23 in place of Enrique González.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kornacki |first=Steve |date=2010-08-23 |title=Tigers recall outfielder Casper Wells, designate reliever Enrique Gonzalez for assignment |url=https://www.mlive.com/tigers/2010/08/tigers_recall_outfielder_caspe.html |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=mlive |language=en}}</ref>
===Seattle Mariners=== On July 30, 2011, Wells was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with LHP Charlie Furbush, prospect Francisco Martínez and a player to be named later (Chance Ruffin) for Doug Fister and David Pauley.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 30, 2011 |title=Doug Fister, David Pauley Traded to Tigers for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Other Stuff Too |url=https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2011/7/30/2305461/doug-fister-david-pauley-traded-to-tigers-for-casper-wells-charlie}}</ref> Wells had early success at Seattle. He was able to put together a continuous streak of 4 games where he had a home run in each from August 13 through 16, 2011. The streak was halted when he was hit by a pitch in the nose by Brandon Morrow.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 18, 2011 |title=Schenectady's Casper Wells Gets Hit in Face by Pitch |url=https://1045theteam.com/schenectadys-casper-wells-gets-hit-in-face-by-pitch/ |website=104.5 The Team}}</ref> In the second-half of 2011, he batted .216/.310/.431 with the Mariners.<ref name=":0" />
Wells started 2012 with the Mariners but was demoted to the minors at the end of May, returning to Seattle in mid-June. In his only full season with Seattle, he batted .228/.302/.396 with 10 home runs, often serving as a right handed platoon bat.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Gary |date=June 19, 2012 |title=Casper Wells |url=https://sports.mynorthwest.com/high-heat/casper-wells/5567 |work=Seattle Sports}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Casper Wells 2012 Batting Game Log |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=wellsca01&t=b&year=2012 |website=Baseball Reference}}</ref>
Wells was designated for assignment by the Mariners on March 31, 2013. The Toronto Blue Jays claimed him off waivers on April 10.<ref>{{cite web |last=Griffin |first=Richard |date=April 10, 2013 |title=Blue Jays claim outfielder Casper Wells from Mariners |url=http://thestar.blogs.com/baseball/2013/04/blue-jays-claim-outfielder-casper-wells-from-mariners.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623072140/http://thestar.blogs.com/baseball/2013/04/blue-jays-claim-outfielder-casper-wells-from-mariners.html |archive-date=June 23, 2013 |access-date=April 10, 2013 |work=TheStar.com |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Toronto designated him for assignment on April 15 without appearing in a game to make room on the 40-man roster for Ramón Ortiz.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 15, 2013 |title=Casper Wells Designated For Assignment Without Appearing in a Game, Ramon Ortiz Joins Blue Jays |url=https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2013/4/15/4227730/casper-wells-designated-for-assignment-without-appearing-in-a-game |access-date=April 15, 2013 |publisher=BlueBirdBanter.com}}</ref>
===Oakland Athletics=== Wells was traded to the Oakland Athletics on April 22, 2013 for cash. He was added to the active roster when second baseman Scott Sizemore re-tore his ACL.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 22, 2013 |title=A's acquire OF Casper Wells |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/9199777/oakland-athletics-acquire-casper-wells-toronto-blue-jays |access-date=April 22, 2013}}</ref> Wells was designated for assignment on April 28 when Yoenis Céspedes returned from the disabled list.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 28, 2013 |title=A's Yoenis Cespedes back from disabled list |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_23126658/yoenis-cespedes-back-from-disabled-list |access-date=April 28, 2013}}</ref> Wells started only twice for the Athletics, one in left field and one as the designated hitter.<ref>{{cite web |title=Casper Wells Statistics and History |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wellsca01.shtml |access-date=30 July 2013 |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
===Chicago White Sox=== On April 29, 2013, Wells was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for cash considerations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-04-29 |title=White Sox acquire Casper Wells from Oakland in exchange for cash considerations; transfer pitcher Leyson Septimo to 60-day disabled list |url=https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/white-sox-acquire-wells-from-oakland-transfer-pitcher-septimo-to-dl/c-46152958 |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref> In 38 games for Chicago, he batted .167/.225/.182 with no home runs and one RBI.
===Philadelphia Phillies=== On August 8, 2013, Wells was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2013 |title=Phillies Claim Casper Wells Off Waivers |url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/08/phillies-claim-casper-wells-off-waivers.html |access-date=February 5, 2025 |website=mlbtraderumors.com |language=en}}</ref> On August 24, after starting the night in right field, Wells pitched in the 18th inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, making him a position player to have pitched in both leagues in the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-25 |title=Wells, pitcher short Phillies lose ghost of a chance in 18th inning |url=https://www.delcotimes.com/2013/08/25/wells-pitcher-short-phillies-lose-ghost-of-a-chance-in-18th-inning/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Delco Times |language=en-US}}</ref> He was the losing pitcher, tabbed with a 27.08 ERA after giving up 5 runs to the Diamondbacks. Wells was also 0-for-7 batting that night.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Phillies fall short in 18 innings against D-backs |url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/phillies-fall-short-in-18-innings-against-d-backs |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Fox Sports}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Stark |first=Jayson |date=December 29, 2013 |title=Strange but True 2013 |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/10210242/mlb-strange-true-2013 |website=ESPN}}</ref> Wells appeared as a pinch runner the following day, but on August 27, he was placed on the disabled list with dry eye syndrome as a result of lasik surgery on his eyes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Iseman |first=Chris |date=August 26, 2013 |title=Vision issue lands Phils' Wells on disabled list |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/phillies-place-outfielder-casper-wells-on-disabled-list/c-58476050 |access-date=August 26, 2013 |publisher=MLB.com}}</ref> Wells returned to action for one at-bat as a pinch hitter in late September, in what was to be his final major league appearance. Wells was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on October 16. He elected free agency the following day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=Jeff |date=2013-10-19 |title=Minor Moves: Ramirez, Bernadina, Wells, Rapada, Manship |url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/10/minor-moves-ramirez-bernadina-wells-rapada-manship.html |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=MLB Trade Rumors}}</ref>
[[File:Casper Wells Bluefish.jpg|thumb|Wells playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish]]
===Chicago Cubs=== On November 20, 2013, Wells signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=Jeff |date=2013-11-23 |title=Minor Moves: Laird, Wells, Lerud, Maya, Sappelt |url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/11/minor-moves-dave-sappelt.html |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=MLB Trade Rumors}}</ref> On May 19, 2014, Wells joined the Chicago's Triple-A affiliate, the Iowa Cubs, following extended spring training. In 26 games for Iowa, he batted .197/.290/.230 with no home runs or RBI, and eight walks. Wells was released by the Cubs organization on June 25.<ref name="chicagotribune.com">{{Cite web |last=Gonzales |first=Mark |date=June 25, 2014 |title=Ramirez to join Iowa on Thursday |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-manny-ramirez-joins-triplea-iowa-20140625,0,3735381.story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140625184835/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-manny-ramirez-joins-triplea-iowa-20140625,0,3735381.story |archive-date=June 25, 2014 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
===Bridgeport Bluefish=== On July 18, 2014, Wells signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League. In 49 games for Bridgeport, he slashed .267/.338/.358 with two home runs, 19 RBI, and three stolen bases.
===Detroit Tigers (second stint)=== On February 21, 2015, the Detroit Tigers signed Wells to a minor league contract.<ref>{{cite web |last=Beck |first=Jason |date=February 21, 2015 |title=Tigers bring Wells back on Minor League deal |url=http://m.tigers.mlb.com/news/article/109929250/tigers-bring-outfielder-casper-wells-back-on-a-minor-league-deal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222232754/http://m.tigers.mlb.com/news/article/109929250/tigers-bring-outfielder-casper-wells-back-on-a-minor-league-deal |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |access-date=February 21, 2015 |publisher=MLB}}</ref> In 15 games for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves, he hit .209/.292/.326 with one home run and six RBI. Wells was released by the Tigers organization on May 1.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schmehl |first=James |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Detroit Tigers release outfielder Casper Wells, reliever Omar Duran from minor league system |url=https://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2015/05/detroit_tigers_release_outfiel_1.html |access-date=May 1, 2015 |publisher=MLive}}</ref> {{-}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Baseball}} {{Baseballstats |mlb=489413 |espn=30069 |br=w/wellsca01 |fangraphs=9700 |brm=wells-001cas |retro=W/Pwellc001}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Casper}} Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Baseball players from Detroit Category:Bridgeport Bluefish players Category:Chicago White Sox players Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Erie SeaWolves players Category:Gulf Coast Tigers players Category:Iowa Cubs players Category:Lakeland Flying Tigers players Category:Lakeland Tigers players Category:Leones del Caracas players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Leones del Escogido players Category:American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Category:Major League Baseball outfielders Category:Mesa Solar Sox players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:Oneonta Tigers players Category:Peoria Javelinas players Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:Baseball players from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:Baseball players from Schenectady, New York Category:Tacoma Rainiers players Category:Toledo Mud Hens players Category:Towson Tigers baseball players Category:West Michigan Whitecaps players