If left-hander Alex Wood made what he considers the “smarter” decision, the veteran starting pitcher would have joined the San Francisco Giants last January.
At the time, Wood was mulling offers from two finalists. The Giants, as the southpaw said Tuesday, would have provided him with an opportunity to make more money and pitch out of the starting rotation. The Dodgers, who boasted a stacked roster loaded with impressive arms, offered familiarity and a much better chance to win the World Series.
It all worked out for Wood, who tossed four shutout innings in the 2020 World Series en route to earning a ring, but as he looked back on decision Tuesday, he realized he took quite a gamble.
“On a personal and individual level, it was a decision as far as setting myself up to make more money and things like that, the smarter decision would have been for me to go and be able to post every fifth day for sure in San Francisco,” Wood said. “I knew there was inherent risk, but it was something I was okay with just because, to put it candidly, I thought LA had a better shot to win the World Series last year.”
The 2020 regular season didn’t go as planned for anyone, but Wood had a particularly challenging year. After battling injuries with Cincinnati in 2019, Wood returned to Los Angeles and appeared in only nine games (two starts) as he dealt with a shoulder issue.
His 6.39 ERA regular season ERA suggests Wood was nowhere close to the form he showed when he finished ninth in Cy Young voting in 2017, but fortunately for the veteran, a longtime fan of his calls the shots in the Giants’ front office.
Farhan Zaidi was the Dodgers’ general manager when Wood was at his best, and when he tuned into the World Series, he saw the version of Wood who once thrived in the middle of Los Angeles’ starting rotation.
“He pitched incredibly well in the playoffs, including in the World Series. For me, watching him pitch in the playoffs was really reminiscent of when I’ve seen him at his best,” Zaidi said last week.
Wood felt the same way.
“I really felt like besides 2017, (the playoffs) were really the best my stuff has been in my career to finish the year across the board,” Wood said. “All three of my pitches, velocity, the whole thing, and I’ve built off of that. After the World Series, I only took about three weeks off of throwing.”
Immediately after the Giants signed Wood to a one-year, $3 million deal that includes performance bonuses that allow him to earn up to $6 million, Zaidi offered a detailed synopsis of why he made a starter coming off back-to-back rough seasons a top target.
The Giants think Wood’s low three-quarters arm slot offers a deceptive look against hitters and and believe his “funk,” as Zaidi said, is an asset. Wood explained he’s studied diligently to learn the ways to maximize his effectiveness with a non-traditional release point.
“Any pitch you throw, it’s going to have some kind of vertical break and some kind of horizontal break,” Wood said. “I have a unique fastball right now as I’m throwing a two-seamer, but it’s playing more like a true four-seam to where I’m getting a lot of vertical movement on it. I think I averaged more than 15 and a half (inches) from a low, three-quarters slot during the playoffs and this past season which is significant and very unique to me individually.”
After spending parts of five seasons as a teammate of fellow left-hander Clayton Kershaw, Wood will look at the Giants-Dodgers rivalry from a different vantage point and attempt to reestablish himself as a reliable major league starter with Buster Posey working as his catcher. He listed Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Johnny Cueto by name as some of the teammates he’s most excited to play with and complimented the Giants’ approach to building a lineup that Wood called “superior” against left-handed pitchers.
Most of all, Wood feels comfortable in San Francisco and his relationships with Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler give him a strong foundation with the Giants. More than five years after Zaidi first acquired Wood in a 13-player, three-team trade, the Giants’ president of baseball operations has done so again in a way that wasn’t nearly as complex.
For the second time in as many offseasons, the Giants made Wood a competitive offer. This January, he accepted.
