Alex

Wood

Wood made the announcement on Friday in a social media post. The well-traveled 34-year-old southpaw hangs up his cleats after a 12-year career that includes stops with the Braves, Dodgers, Reds, Giants and Athletics. He finished with a solid 3.78 ERA across 1,258 innings (278 appearances, 211) starts in the majors dating back to 2013. The former second-round pick made his lone All-Star Game appearance for the Dodgers back in 2017 when he finished as a down-ballot Cy Young Award candidate.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay confirmed Thursday that Wood will miss the remainder of the year due to shoulder surgery. No word yet on how long he’ll wind up sidelined heading into next year. The 33-year-old lefty wound up making just nine relief appearances this season in his Oakland debut before hitting the shelf back in mid-May with rotator cuff tendinitis.

Wood was placed on the 15-day IL on May 15, so the southpaw now won’t be eligible to return to the Athletics until after the All-Star break. The southpaw is now off the 40-man roster, and it clears room for Michel Otañez, who had his contract selected from Las Vegas in a corresponding move.

With Wood joining Joy Boyle and Paul Blackburn on the IL, the A’s have lost 60% of their rotation this month. Aaron Brooks is starting for the A’s today. Osvaldo Bido might come up in Wood’s place later this week.

Wood said it was something he thought he could pitch through, but Sunday’s miserable outing against the Mariners seems to have brought that to an end for now. It’d be a big blow to the A’s to lose their third starting pitcher in a week. With Joey Estes and Aaron Brooks already replacing Joe Boyle and Paul Blackburn, Osvaldo Bido is probably next in line.

Wood also issued a base on balls and recorded a strikeout in the abbreviated outing. The M’s scratched out a run against him in the first inning on an RBI single by Mitch Garver. They tacked on four more runs in the second — the final two on a blast from Julio Rodriguez. Wood generated just four swings and misses on 60 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll carry a troublesome 5.26 ERA and 1.78 WHIP into Friday’s matchup against the Royals in Kansas City.

Wood didn’t quite dominate in striking out three tonight, but he lowered his ERA from 6.32 to 5.30. He has a kind matchup against the Mariners in Seattle next time out, but he’s unlikely to be much of a factor in mixed leagues going forward.

Wood was tagged for eight hits, but a second-inning solo shot from Jose Trevino represented the lone tally against him in this one. He struck out five and only issued two walks. He’ll carry an underwhelming 6.59 ERA, 1.98 WHIP and 25/13 K/BB ratio across 27 1/3 innings (six starts) into a home outing on Tuesday against the Pirates.

Wood gave up a pair of runs in the first inning, and while he settled down over the next few frames, a two-run homer from Josh Naylor in the fifth prevented this from being anything but another poor start from the southpaw. The left-hander has allowed at least four runs in three of his five outings, and that helps explain his unhealthy 7.89 ERA thus far. There’s no reason to consider Wood as a streamer against the Yankees next week.

Wood allowed seven hits, walked four and plunked two batters before being replaced. He’s never been stingy with the HBPs, but he’s already up to five in just 16 2/3 innings this season. The A’s probably won’t be quick to demote him after making him their biggest free agent addition this winter, but he’s off to an ugly start with his 8.10 ERA. Even without the HBPs counting, his WHIP sits at 2.10.