Oakland A’s and Former San Francisco Giants Pitcher Reach Agreement
The Oakland A’s have been rather quiet this winter, but Robert Murray reports that they have added Alex Wood as their third big-league off-season addition. This is Oakland’s second off-season Giant addition, after Trevor Gott.
The 33-year-old left-hander, who went 23-21 and recorded a 4.41 ERA with a 1.270 WHIP, most recently played for the San Francisco Giants for three seasons. Wood will be in his 12th Major League season this year.https://matchsportnews.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
He played more of a hybrid role with the Giants last season, starting 12 of his 29 games and logging 97 2/3 innings at a 4.33 ERA, which was exactly the league average.
Even though the A’s had a 29th-place ERA a year ago, this is a noteworthy move for the team. Paul Blackburn, Luis Medina, who has run out of options and needs to stay on the 26-man roster or be placed on waivers where any team can claim him, and JP Sears are the three starters who are already signed for 2024.
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After those three, there’s Ken Waldichuk, whose availability for spring training is questionable but who, in good health, ought to be a rotation lock. Then you would have to decide between Joe Boyle, who shined in his 16 big league innings late in the previous season but also has a history of control troubles, and fellow free agency addition Osvaldo Bido, who owned a 5.83 ERA in just over 50 innings with the Pirates. Although Mitch Spence is projected to be a good choice, he will also be making his Major League Baseball debut in 2024.
Going into 2024, the Oakland A’s players and coaches undoubtedly want to get better following two seasons with 100 or more losses, but they also want to strike a balance in terms of providing the younger guys ample playing time.
It would be intriguing to see how Wood fits into the pitching lineup.
Someone like fellow lefty Kyle Muller could be in danger if he’s willing to work out of the bullpen. Similar to Medina, Muller has no more choices and, should he be removed from the roster, would be available via the waiver wire.
This isn’t a bad move for a squad hoping to get better this season. When Wood takes the mound, he ought to offer some consistency, and the A’s most definitely lacked that during the previous season.
