The Giants signed left-back Alex Wood to a one-year contract, Alex Pavlovic from NBC Sports Bay Area reports. This is a $ 3MM guarantee that includes up to $ 3MM more performance bonuses for the ACES customer per Maria Guardado of MLB.com.
Wood, a former Dodger, will now reunite with Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was the general manager of Los Angeles earlier in his Southpaw career. Wood experienced some of his best seasons when Zaidi was in LA’s front office, and the 30-year-old has largely maintained his own stand since breaking into the majors with the Braves in 2013. Overall, Wood recorded a strong 3.45 ERA / 3.72. SIERA scored in a combined 851 2/3 innings, although his knockdown over the past few years has made him a low price this season.
LA sent Wood to Cincinnati before the 2019 campaign as part of a blockbuster deal, and the Reds certainly expected him to give quality innings that year. However, the tormenting problems kept him out for most of the season, limiting him to just 35 2/3 frames of 5.80 ERA pitch.
The Dodgers brought Wood back to a free agency almost exactly a year ago (January 12, 2020) on a $ 4 million guarantee, but the reunion did not go quite as planned. Wood struggled with shoulder problems in the regular season, throwing 12 2/3 overs and yielding nine earned runs (mostly outside the bull). But Wood bounced back during the Dodgers’ World-winning playoff run with 6 2/3 overs of one run and eight shots on three runs. Four of those innings, all of which were without points, came during the Fall Classic against Tampa Bay.
In an ideal world for the Giants, Wood will perform more as in last year’s playoffs than in the regular season. Either way, it’s not so surprising that they bring him into the kraal. Not only does Wood have ties to Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler, another former Dodgers frontman, but Giants Scott Harris announced earlier this week that acquiring an appetizer was a priority for the team is.
The Giants lost southpaw Drew Smyly to the Braves earlier in free agency after he was a cheap steal for the club in 2020, leaving them temporarily with a projected rotation. Wood needs to provide some balance to a Giants starting lineup that relies on two of Wood’s former Reds teammates – Kevin Gausman and Anthony DeSclafani – as well as Johnny Cueto and Logan Webb.
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