MLB Trade Rumors: Tribe Looking to Move Wood
One year after singing a true closer, it appears that the Indians could already be regretting the move. ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Mark Shapiro and staff would entertain offers for their 32-year old flame thrower.
Kerry Wood was given a two-year deal that could become three if certain criteria was met just a year ago. Two years does not seem all that bad until you realize that Wood will make $10.5 million this season – with a possible $11 million in 2011. Under normal circumstances, this is not a ton of money for a pitcher that can throw bullets; especially on a team that has had such turmoil in late innings.
Then again, the Cleveland Indians are not “normal” by any stretch of the imagination when it comes to paying players. They shipped off Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez; both players will make considerably less than Wood in 2010.
The Indians will not likely see a vast number of save opportunities, and will find themselves pitching Wood in non-save situations simply to get innings out of him. Couple this with the fact that the Tribe recently traded for a handful of potential back-end relievers in Chris Perez and Jess Todd, and there is little to no use in paying a guy $10 million.
Both Perez and Todd were thought to be “closers of the future” in St. Louis, so one would assume they would be given the shot at doing the same in Cleveland. Then there’s the other Perez in Rafael…
Fear not, however. The vesting option for 2011 only kicks in if Wood can save 55 games in 2010*. He managed to only throw 55 innings last season, saving 20 games. If this year looks to be worse in terms of wins and save-0pps, it is pretty safe to say that Wood will not be achieving said hurdle.
–
*Apparently, the criteria is to “finish” 55 games. Though still something that would be tough to achieve, the Indians could definitely plan around this if needed late in the year. Just ask Brady Quinn.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I don’t think he has to save 55 games for the vesting option to kick in–just “finish” them, which means he has to be the “last” Indians pitcher in the game. He had forty or so “finished games” last year, from what I recall.
If someone would trade us anything for him, I’d take it just to move the salary.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
This team and baseball in general are a joke. I won’t support baseball till a cap is in place. I will go to some tribe games for the free stuff and dollar hot dog night with my little brother.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Buster Olney says that the Indians “would def. listen on Kerry Wood.” This does not mean that they are actively entertaining offers, but that Olney thinks that they would entertain offers if they were made.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Ah, thanks LM. Should have phrased it “would entertain offers.” Will fix that, actually…
November 13th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Who cares. Another meaningless move by a meaningless team. Get me a salary cap.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I agree with those criticizing the joke of baseball’s salary system, but those concerns aside, this makes perfect sense. The Indians probably would have been willing to unload him last year, but I doubt they got any offers because Wood was all over the place. I doubt they find a suitor before the season starts, unless a team with a lot of money loses their closer in the off-season or spring training to injury, but he’ll probably be gone by the deadline.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
AMC hits the nail on the head. I think they need to let Wood improve his stock before they deal him. There were no takers last year, and I doubt his trade value increases while he’s sitting home. A couple months of consistency on the mound, however, and Shapiro should be able to get a decent haul from a contender.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Oh, and to play grammar nazi… I’m pretty sure the Indians *signed* Wood:
“One year after singing a true closer,”
November 13th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
@8: To play proper word Nazi, you corrected an error in spelling, not grammar.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
@9 – touche.
Still, the publishers do themselves a disservice not doing a quick proof before clicking “publish.” Putting your words out there for all the world to see, as writers, to generate revenue… take pride in that, fellas. Just a few seconds spared to proof-read.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Nobody wants to pay a closer $10M unless his name is Mariano Rivera. Baseball people know that closers are overvalued…and signing Wood in the first place was a bad decision on Shapiro’s part. One of his worst. $10M a year for a guy to get three outs 60-70 times a year is a horrific waste of money.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Wow, there’s a barnburner of a story from Buster Olney. Olney is a total stiff-he’s the same guy that supported ARod during his initial telling (lying) of his roid usage; Olney went all over the air in total support of his gumba. Olney telling us that Dolan wants to shed Wood’s contract……..shocking in it’s reportage.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
November 13th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e198/KupoNH/renders/NewSuperMarioBros-Goomba.png
It’s not the goombas that worry me…..it’s the koopa troopas
November 16th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
“Tribe Looking to Move Wood”
Just wanted to make sure that everyone understands and appreciates the irony of this title…
November 17th, 2009 at 9:04 am
These pieces on MLB Trade Rumors are not good at all.
First, Wood was ALWAYS a bad idea for the Indians. A big money closer, even if he’s really good, is ALWAYS a waste for a team with the Indians’ payroll constraints.
Second, he had a terrible season last year. There are a lot of reasons to be upset with the Indians, but trading a $10M reliever with a league average ERA is not one of them.
Third, Lee and Martinez were not traded because of their 2010 salaries, as the piece implies. They were traded because they are free agents after 2010 and the team did not expect to contend until then, which is another reason it makes no sense to keep Kerry Wood around.