The Giants finally found the lefty to fill out their rotation, and he's very familiar to their fan base.
Former Dodgers All-Star Alex Wood signed a one-year, $3 million contract, the Giants announced Thursday evening. Wood can make an additional $3 million in performance bonuses.
The addition of Wood, who pitched for Farhan Zaidi in Los Angeles, completes the rotation, although the Giants have said they're not opposed to adding more depth before spring training. They had been searching for a lefty to join their four right-handers and got one with a strong track record.
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Wood was an All-Star in 2017, going 16-3 for the Dodgers with a 2.72 ERA. He was part of the Yasiel Puig deal with the Reds before the 2019 season but got hurt and then had a down year in Cincinnati before returning to Los Angeles last season. Wood mostly pitched out of the bullpen for the World Series champions as he came back from shoulder inflammation, and while he had a rough regular season, he looked like his old self in October.
Wood made four relief appearances in the run to a title, allowing just one run over 6 2/3 innings. He pitched two huge innings in the World Series clincher, striking out three as he served as a bridge to the late innings, when Julio Urias put the Rays away.
San Francisco Giants
Wood joins Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Anthony Desclafani and Logan Webb in the rotation, with the Giants also having Tyler Beede due back from Tommy John surgery early in the season. The Giants had been looking for a left-hander after Drew Smyly signed with the Braves in November.
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A year after Smyly signed for $4 million, the Giants gave a similar deal to Wood, who has performance bonuses based on the length of his appearances. Wood can make an additional $125,000 when he hits 12 and 14 appearances with 10 or more outs recorded. There are five additional checkpoints worth $250,000 each, and if Wood reaches 26, 28 or 30 appearances of 10-plus outs, he will get an additional $500,000 each time. Essentially, if Wood remains in the rotation the entire year it will be a $6 million deal.