Alex Wood made no qualms about how much more comfortable he is starting than relieving when the Braves moved him into their rotation in July. But now that the Braves want him in the bullpen for the stretch run and playoffs, he seems just excited about that too.
“The nice thing is I feel like they feel like they can plug me in anywhere in the bullpen,” Wood said. “I can come in at any time. That’s exciting for me.”
The other option was to use Wood as a fourth starter, but the Braves want another left-hander in the bullpen, given recent struggles of lefties Scott Downs and Luis Avilan. Wood knows he might be able to impact more games in a short best-of-five playoff series this way anyway.
“You’re going to get more use out of somebody in the bullpen that can come in in any kind of role, really,” Wood said. “Righties, lefties, long, short, one hitter, five hitters.”
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said the move was about bolstering the bullpen and not necessarily about watching Wood’s innings count. The second-round pick out of the University of Georgia is in his first full year of professional baseball. But Wood acknowledged Tuesday the idea of pitching in relief now “re-energized him.”
“I know I’ve got enough in the tank to go out there for an inning or two,” said Wood, who has logged 137 2/3 innings this season between Double-A and the majors. “Starting-wise, I’d be lying if I said I felt like I haven’t fatigued a little bit. That’s just part of it. I’m 22. This is the longest stretch I’ve ever played. It’s tough to admit that to yourself, but I feel like I definitely was a part of it. When Fredi said from all aspects it benefited everyone, I think he was probably right in saying that.”
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