When Alex Wood was sent to Triple-A on June 10, a month after being moved from the Braves’ rotation to the bullpen, it stung a bit, even if he understood the reasoning. He said that by the end of the season he hoped for a chance to establish himself as a full-time member of the starting rotation going forward.
Two weeks later the left-hander got that chance and made the most of it. After Gavin Floyd’s season-ending elbow injury, Wood returned and posted a 2.43 ERA and .219 opponents’ average in 17 starts the rest of the season. He had hoped to nail down a regular spot in the starting rotation by season’s end, and that’s what he did.
“Yeah, he did,” said Braves All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, emphasizing the “yeah.” “We all really got to know Alex Wood last year, who he is. We got to see his personality on the field, we got to see the kind of determination that he goes out there and pitches with. He showed that to the fullest extent. That’s exciting. That fire and determination is what you want.”
The former University of Georgia standout always believed in himself more and worried about his funky mechanics less than a lot of others who doubted Wood could be a top-half-of-the-rotation starter in the majors, or wondered whether he could stay healthy.
Now he’ll go to spring training needing not to prove himself or win a job, but to prepare for the season. He’s in the big-league rotation, along with incumbents Julio Teheran and Mike Minor, newcomer Shelby Miller, and a fifth starter to be determined.
“It’s definitely nice to feel like you’ve got somewhat job security,” said Wood, who turned 24 in January. “You’re never secure at this level, but it’s nice to have somewhat solidified myself as part of the rotation. You want to be able to set new goals for yourself going into every year. That’s exciting for me as far as being able to have new goals and not just making the team or solidifying myself in the rotation.”
Wood finished last season with an 11-11 record and 2.78 ERA in 35 games including 24 starts, with 170 strikeouts in 171 2/3 innings. The record was modest considering the impressive ERA, but that’s what can happen when a pitcher has the third-lowest run support among National League qualifiers.
He had a 2.59 ERA as a starter but only an 8-11 record, as the Braves scored one or no runs while Wood was in half of his 24 starts, and just two runs while he was in four of the other 12.
Wood was scratched from his final start as a precautionary measure because of a forearm strain. He already was near the innings limit the Braves had set for him and with the team out of the playoff race, they saw no reason to push him.
Wood didn’t object to the decision, but was perturbed to see some observers opine that he was hurt worse than he led on, and that his unorthodox delivery had led to another injury for a guy who had Tommy John elbow surgery in high school.
He knows there are still plenty who won’t believe him until he’s pitching in games again, but that’s not such a bad thing. See, the skeptics have always stoked Wood’s stove, so to speak. He threw off the mound for the seventh time this winter Tuesday, and afterward a reporter asked how his arm felt.
“It feels good,” he said, smiling. “You can tell everybody, if they’ve got any questions they can just come watch me throw next week (at spring training). I feel really good.”
It was a morning throwing session Feb. 10, and Wood’s competitive juices were already flowing, his fire burning. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 20, and he’s ready.
“I hear all this crap (with people) talking about forearm injury,” Wood said. “You play long enough and you realize, you know when something’s serious and when it’s not, and when it’s actually just a little strain in your forearm, when you only need two weeks to rest. And that’s what it was. I was never worried about it at all.”
He has an edge, but Wood is able to channel that in the right direction. He never complained about run support or bit on reporters’ questions when asked about the subject after many of his losses or no-decisions last season.
Along similar lines, he isn’t critical of the Braves’ offseason moves, including trading three of the top hitters — Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, Evan Gattis — from an offense that ranked 29th in the majors in runs. As Wood sees it, there’s nothing to be gained by worrying about things he can’t control.
“I think if you just worry about what you need to take care of on a daily basis and just try to be the best teammate you can with the guys around you — you can’t really control all the other circumstances,” he said. “So it’s hard to get mad or say, oh my God, they traded away three great hitters. Because you know, we also got some guys coming in who know how to play the game and it’s exciting from that standpoint.”
After being plagued by high strikeouts and low averages with runners in scoring position, the Braves added contact hitters, including right fielder Nick Markakis, infielder Alberto Callaspo and Cuban outfielder Dian Toscano. They also added an element lacking last year: veteran leadership.
Markakis, left fielder Jonny Gomes and catcher A.J. Pierzynski all have enjoyed major success as well as disappointments in the majors. Markakis is known as a leader by example, and Gomes and Pierzynski have reputations for toughness and outspokenness.
“I’ve heard good things about a lot of those guys, how great a clubhouse guys they are,” Wood said. “I don’t think there will be much tomfoolery going on. I think it’ll be a well-run clubhouse, something we might have missed a little bit last year as a whole. And I think it might also help bring the guys together as a whole unit, instead of splitting off into your cliques and all that stuff.”
