Alex Wood may not be an ace, but I am actually in the camp that saw his signing as a perfectly reasonable move by the A’s. Pitching depth is important, Ken Waldichuk had already become the first domino to fall, and potentially Wood provides a solid veteran mentor and leader with the versatility to start or relieve. At $8.5M, Wood was a relative bargain in today’s absurd market. It is also a plus that when I watch him pitch, I am reminded to donate to the Epilepsy Foundation.
So no “Wood-bashing” in this space even after a less than inspired debut that began with 3 wobbly but mostly effective innings followed by a 4th inning the lefty would start but not finish as 5 runs scored.