left handed alex wood The Oakland Athletics have reportedly agreed to a deal, according to FanSided's Robert Murray. Details of the contract are still unknown, but Murray added that he is awaiting a physical.
Wood, who celebrated his 33rd birthday earlier this month, will remain in the Bay Area for his final season with the Athletics in Oakland after spending the past three seasons with the Giants. A second-round pick by Altanta in the 2012 draft, he spent the first few years of his career as a quality intermediate pitcher for the Braves and Giants, pitching with a 3.29 ERA (over 117 ERA) in 803 1/3 innings. Recorded FIP3.36. He played from 2013 to 2018. Things took a turn for the worst for Wood after he was traded to the Reds as part of a multiplayer blockbuster. Yasiel Puig and matt kemp To Cincinnati. The left-hander appeared in just 16 games during the 2019-2020 season, posting a 5.96 ERA and 6.02 FIP in the 48 1/3 innings he was able to pitch.
But that two-injury-plagued season didn't stop the Giants from taking a chance on Wood, a decision that quickly paid off. The left-handed pitcher started 26 games with San Francisco in 2021, pitching 138 2/3 innings and posting a 3.83 ERA and 3.48 FIP as the Giants won 107 games and won their first division title since 2012. did. The club rewarded Wood. He signed a two-year, $25 million contract that offseason, but his second contract in San Francisco was not as successful as his first.
Wood started 26 games for the Giants in 2022 and struggled with an ERA of 5.10, but he showed a much stronger performance with a career-high 5.4% walk rate and stable strikeout and ground ball rates. Despite the numbers. After these struggles, the club decided to use Wood as a hybrid starter and bulk reliever in 2023. The veteran southpaw has had 12 or more outs just three times since last June, but has struggled in a swinging role, posting a middling 4.33 ERA. 4.47FIP. Unlike 2022, Wood's peripherals confirmed his lackluster performance in 2023, as his walk rate ballooned to 9.8%, while his strikeout rate dropped to just 17.2%.
Despite struggles over the past two seasons, Wood's addition is a welcome addition to the Athletics club, which lost 112 games last year due in part to rotation issues and finished 2023 with a career ERA of 5.74, the worst among major league clubs. This could be a big boost for the. Don't call Coors Field home. Even with the dip in Wood's 4.77 ERA and 4.07 FIP over the past two seasons, he'll be well above those numbers, and if he can regain the mid-rotation form he showed early in his career. Wood could be a valuable addition to the Athletics. They flip at the deadline as they continue their rebuild.Meanwhile, Wood will also be participating. JP Sears and paul blackburn In Oakland's rotation, Luis Medina, Joe Boyleand Joey Estes He is one of the possibilities to complete the club's starting five.
The signing of Wood takes another starting pitcher off the market for clubs looking for pitching help. Teams looking for starting options can continue to look to: blake snell and jordan montgomery In terms of impact options, however, lower-level free agency is starting to dwindle with weapons such as: michael lorenzen and Ryu Hyun Jin Represents some of the next best options left after the top southpaw on the market. As for Athletics, the club has previously indicated that it expects to increase its salary from 2023. Pending the terms of Wood's contract with the club, RosterResource projects that his current salary with the club in 2024 will be a meager $41 million, but he will be $17 million lower than last year. . This should leave the club with room to pursue additional spots in the rotation, potentially taking on a shortstop role heading into next month's spring training, but shopping in the upper echelons of free agency. The chances remain low.
