Travis

Wood

Willis was scratched from Sunday’s start due to back spasms and apparently isn’t feeling much better. Weather-permitting, Travis Wood will make the start in his place.

Wood served up three home runs in seeing his spring ERA explode to 25.07 through 4 2/3 innings. The bad start couldn’t have come at a worse time for Wood after Cubs manager Dale Sveum said on Sunday that Jeff Samardzija was a “near lock” for a rotation spot. Wood appears ticketed for the bullpen or Triple-A.

An easy call, as Wood has allowed 16 earned runs on 18 hits over just 8 1/3 innings this spring, good enough (or bad enough, really) for an obscene 17.28 ERA. We still think the 25-year-old southpaw can be a decent back-end starter in the long run, but he obviously has some things he needs to work on.

His lone blemish on the day was a solo shot served up to Andy Gonzalez. Wood faced a lineup that contained a lot of Milwaukee’s minor leaguers, but at least his horrible spring training ends on an upswing. He’ll begin the season at Triple-A, but could be the first person summoned when a starter is needed.

Wood struck out one in his exhibition debut for the North Siders. Shuttled back and forth between the big leagues and minors by the Reds last season, Wood figures to be given a long leash by the rebuilding Cubbies.

Wood got the spot start in place of Matt Garza (flu) on Sunday and allowed three runs over six innings as part of a no-decision. He’ll return to a 5.08 ERA over five starts at the Triple-A level this season.

Wood allowed three runs over six innings Sunday against the Dodgers. Cardenas, meanwhile, owns some NL-only sleeper intrigue. He has a solid bat, but has thus far not found a defensive home. While his leather needs work, Cardenas, claimed off waivers from the A’s over the winter, is hitting .326/.381/.533 on the farm this year. The 24-year-old former top prospect batted .314/.374/.418 with five homers, 51 RBI and a .780 OPS with Triple-A Sacramento last season. He could steal at-bats at second and third base and a hot start could earn him consistent playing time on a rebuilding Cubs team.

Wood struck out four, walked three and gave up just three hits. He’s expected to be sent back down to Triple-A Iowa shortly.

It’s a surprising statement even though Samardzija has had a terrific spring, posting a 2.70 ERA and 9/0 K/BB ratio over 10 innings. He seemed to have finally found a niche in the bullpen last season, and even when he’s gotten good results, Samardzija has always struggled with his control (career 5.3 BB/9). The righty was mostly a starter in the minors, but his results left something to be desired. We’re guessing the experiment won’t last long and Samardzija winds up back in the bullpen eventually. Randy Wells, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood and Rodrigo Lopez will fight for the last spot in the Cubs rotation. We like Wood most of the group, but he’s easily pitched the worst of the group this spring.

Yikes. The poor showing comes at a bad time for Wood, as it’s just a day after Chris Volstad had another nice performance. We like Wood more for fantasy purposes over the long haul, but Volstad might have an early leg up in the fight for the final spot in the Cubs rotation. Jeff Samardzija is also in the mix.