With Joba Chamberlain on the shelf for the next 10-14 months, one candidate that has popped up prominently for some much needed bullpen help is a familiar face from last season, one Mr. Kerry Lee Wood. On the surface, it seems to make sense. The Cubs are obviously going nowhere this year, already 12 games out in the hotly contested NL Central. Even a rough patch by the Cards wouldn’t help them out much with the Brewers, Reds and (yes) Pirates ahead of them in baseball’s only 6 team division. It’s going to be another long summer in Chicago, and the lovable losers from the north side figure to be sellers at the trade deadline.
There has already been some buzz of interest on the part of the Yanks. I have no doubt that some elements of the Yankee brass will look at how well Wood performed in pinstripes last year and think he has ‘what it takes to pitch in New York’ whatever the heck that means. But looking deeper at the numbers, it appears 2010 Kerry Wood the Yankee is a classic case of luck in small samples.
The first thing that jumps out at you is the 0.69 ERA, almost a full 3 runs lower than his career mark of 3.63. His rate stats as a Yankee (1.231 WHIP/10.7 SO/9) were remarkably similar to that of his career numbers (1.262 WHIP/10.3 SO/9) so it doesn’t appear he reinvented himself as a pitcher in any way. If anything, his walks were up last year as a Yankee (6.2/9) from his career average (4.3/9). A likely explanation for his success was his ridiculously low .236 BABIP as a Yankee, far below his career mark of .282 and the MLB average last year of .298. xFIP bears this out, he had a 4.40 mark last year with a 3.31 ERA overall. For his career, his xFIP and ERA are much closer, so he’s not one of these guys who outperforms it annually like Mo does. To be fair, Wood’s ERA (2.25) this year has outperformed his xFIP (4.40) as well, but Wrigley Field has long had a reputation for helping pitchers in the cold, early months of the year and becoming a launching pad come summertime. Unless he added a pitch as a Yankee or changed something else about his delivery, there’s no reason whatsoever to believe his performance in pinstripes last year is likely to be repeated in any way.
Maybe the best argument for reacquiring Wood is how little he makes. He signed a very team friendly 1 year/1.5 mil deal with incentives to return to his baseball home in Chicago. But that affects his trade availability in two ways. First, you’ll have to give up more for him in talent since he’s earning so little in dollars. Next, he has a blanket no-trade clause which Jayson Stark reports he is unlikely to waive. The whole point of signing such a team friendly deal from his perspective was to spend the season in Chicago, where his wife is from. Unless he’s unhappy pitching for a non contender (something he had to expect by signing there in the first place) he’d have every right to demand a contract extension or to guarantee his incentives from this year’s deal.
You can sell me it’s better to be lucky than good, but its also smart to leave the blackjack table with some winnings in your pocket. If were talking about another C-level prospect plus filler to make the deal, I suppose you could take a flyer on the veteran pitcher. But if he costs anything of value, I’ll pass.
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9 Responses to Just Say No to “Kerry Wood-the Sequel”
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TIQ IQ
I dont see any harm in it if it doesn’t cost us anything.
I said that at the end of the piece. But as I detailed, I don’t see him going cheap at that price tag+ the NTC.
I wouldn’t trade for him because he’s a free agent who would most likely re-sign with the Cubs because he’s all about comfort and not winning. If the list of teams on his no-trade clause include the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, or Angels, he is definitely not about winning. I don’t want a guy like that on the Yankees. His signing with the Cubs spoke volumes about where his head is at:
This rumor makes me think one thing. . . . “meh, maybe I guess”.
When it is all said and done, it’s all about making the playoffs and reaching the WS. So you pay the piper for a goy who canhelp with three wins in august and september. If you give up a hector noesi or david phelps – so be it. This is how the yan
The teams listed on his NTC does NOT mean he doesn’t want to play for those teams. On limited NTCs, teams that are listed are the most likely to come calling for a trade, the NTC is a bargaining chip PLAIN AND SIMPLE. That being said, it would not surprise me if he does in fact invoke the NTC, for the simple reason that he left money on the table to sign with the cubs, and to live in chicago.
He did add a pitch while in New York, he began to use a cutter more prominently, and it produced some great results.
I’m not opposed to the idea, he’d likely be dirt cheap. Essentially we might trade away two players who will eventually be decent 7th inning guys in exchange for a quality arm who’s already had success with the YAnkees.
By the way, being able to pitch in the Bronx means you can handle the pressure of pitching for the New York Yankees. You can say whatever you want about playing there, but the pressure from the media and fans is increased tenfold.
Hello. The pressure of pitching for the Yankees is not “tenfold” the pressure of 100 years of losing in Chicago. Lou Pinella, Leo Durocher, Dallas Green, Dusty Baker, etc etc found that out the hard way. They all left town with their tail between their legs.
Kelly Wood reportedly left $10M offer from Yankees on table to go back to Chicago where his wife & kids live. He decided that he has made enough money & that being with family was more important. That does not make him a loser or not interested in winning. That makes him a great dad who decided his family was more important than money he didn’t need. Money won’t buy back time missed with his kids. No different than Petit who we all would certainly agree could have easily excelled in NY this year had he chosen to return.