Lefty Alex Wood turned in a solid season with the Giants after they took a chance on him last offseason. Wood went 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA over 138 ⅔ innings in 2021.
The Giants season is over and the 30-year-old is set to hit the market for the second straight offseason. For many teams, a lefty starter may be at the top of their shopping list as they look towards 2022. Here are three teams that should pursue Wood once free agency begins.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Wood has spent the bulk of his career in a Dodgers uniform. For the most part, he’s been serviceable as a starter and a reliever. He had some tough luck in 2019 and 2020, but he really bounced back in 2021.
The Dodgers may be losing both Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw in free agency. That said, they could use a starter, especially with it being increasingly unlikely each day that Trevor Bauer ever comes back. He’s certainly not an ace, but he could provide the Dodgers with some important innings and slot in nicely in the rotation next to Walker Buehler and Julio Urias.
New York Mets
Like the Dodgers, the Mets have some holes in their rotation. It’s very possible that they’ll be losing Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Rich Hill, and Taijuan Walker. There are also going to be question marks surrounding the health of Jacob DeGrom.
Wood makes sense for the Mets as a guy who can come in and cover innings, similarly to how Walker did for them this past season. The Mets really don’t have a lefty starter in their rotation unless Rich Hill chooses to re-sign. Wood still has plenty left in the tank and comes at half the price of many of the big name starters out there. Of course, Steve Cohen could definitely afford to go after one of them, but Wood makes sense.
St. Louis Cardinals
You may be tired of seeing me include the Cardinals here. I get it. And I’ll come clean. I’m a Cardinal fan. But that also means it’s easy to examine them and see what their needs are heading into 2022.
All jokes aside, a lefty starter should be a priority for them. If healthy, the rotation should be solid. You’ve got Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, and Miles Mikolas. The latter three dealt with some injuries this past season, so staying healthy is key.
But even if they stay healthy, they’re going to need a lefty in that rotation. It’s unlikely Jon Lester and J.A. Happ return. Same with Kwang-Hyun Kim.
Enter Wood.
As mentioned previously, he’s only 30 and still has plenty left in the tank. The chances of the Cardinals going after an ace this offseason are slim, even with some more money available. But like I said, Wood comes at a cheaper price. It may only take a cheap one-year deal to try and sign him. Maybe two years max.
