American baseball player (born 1987)
Baseball player
Travis Alan Wood
(born February 6, 1987) is an American former
professional baseball
pitcher
. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Cincinnati Reds
,
Chicago Cubs
,
Kansas City Royals
, and
San Diego Padres
.
Amateur career
[
edit
]
Born and raised in
Little Rock, Arkansas
, Wood attended
Bryant High School
where he starred in
baseball
and
football
. At the Babe Ruth World Series, Wood tossed a no-hitter, striking out 17, and at Bryant, Wood received All-State honors in each of his three seasons at the school. During his junior season, Wood also led Bryant to a state championship, and was Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
[1]
Professional career
[
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]
Minor leagues
[
edit
]
The
Cincinnati Reds
selected Wood 60th overall in the
2005 Major League Baseball draft
out of
Bryant High School
. He chose not to attend college and went straight to professional baseball.
[
citation needed
]
Wood's first season as a professional was split between the Reds'
Rookie Class
teams, the
Gulf Coast League Reds
and the
Billings Mustangs
. He went a combined 2?0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 games, including 11 starts. Wood held batters to a .166 batting average, struck out 67, and pitched
47
+
2
⁄
3
innings, including
17
+
2
⁄
3
scoreless over his first six appearances.
Wood spent all of 2006 with the Class-A
Dayton Dragons
. He started 27 games and compiled a 10?5 record and a 3.66 ERA. Wood fanned 133 batters and held opponents to a .215 batting average. He was named
Midwest League
Pitcher of the Week for May 15?21, going 2?0 in 10.1 innings, striking out 13, and allowing one earned. Wood allowed only two runs in 26 innings pitched, while striking out 14 in his final four starts of the season.
Wood was placed on the disabled list on July 10 and stayed there until September 14. In 12 starts for the
Sarasota Reds
of the
Class A-Advanced
Florida State League
, he went 3?2 with a 4.86 ERA. In 46.1 innings, Wood allowed 49 hits and 27 walks, striking out 54, and opponents batted .268 off him. Wood began the 2008 season in Sarasota, and went 3?4 with a 2.70 ERA in nine starts. He held batters to a .222 average while with the team. He earned Pitcher of the Week of the
Florida State League
for the week of 4/28-5/4, going 2?0 with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings over the stretch, allowing two runs and striking out nine. Wood earned a promotion to the
Chattanooga Lookouts
of the
Class AA
Southern League
on May 25. He struggled in 17 starts, going 4?9 with a 7.09 ERA. In 80 innings, Wood allowed 91 hits, 67 runs (63 earned), nine home runs, walked 48 and fanned 58.
Wood started the 2009 season with the
Carolina Mudcats
, the Reds new Southern League affiliate. That time around, he improved drastically over his previous season in Double-A. Wood pitched 119 innings over 19 starts, going 9?3 with a 1.21 ERA. Allowing just 16 earned runs on 78 hits and 37 walks, he also stuck out 103 batters and hitters batted only .189 off the lefty. Earning a call-up to the
Louisville Bats
of the
Class AAA
International League
, Wood went 4?2 in 48.2 innings for the Bats. He allowed 43 hits over eight starts, walking 16 and striking out 32. The Reds added Wood to their
40-man roster
after the 2009 season to protect him from the
Rule 5 Draft
.
[2]
Wood was one of the last players cut from the Reds' roster in
Spring Training
, and was one of many competing for the Reds' fifth starter spot. In a crowded race featuring veterans
Mike Lincoln
and
Justin Lehr
, young arms
Micah Owings
and
Matt Maloney
, and prospects
Sam LeCure
,
Aroldis Chapman
, and
Mike Leake
, Wood came down to the last two but was cut in favor of Leake. He started the season in Louisville.
Cincinnati Reds
[
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]
2010
[
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]
On June 30, Wood was called up from Triple-A
Louisville
replacing
Daniel Ray Herrera
on the Reds active roster
[3]
Wood made his major league debut on July 1, 2010, versus the
Chicago Cubs
at
Wrigley Field
, getting a
no decision
in an eventual 3?2 Reds victory.
In his third career start, versus the
Philadelphia Phillies
at
Citizens Bank Park
on July 10, 2010, Wood flirted with a
perfect game
, pitching eight flawless innings before surrendering a
double
to Phillies
catcher
Carlos Ruiz
in the bottom of the ninth inning. Regardless, Wood actually could not have finished the perfect game in the ninth inning, because Phillies ace
Roy Halladay
, who himself had thrown a perfect game earlier in the 2010 season, also was pitching a shutout through nine innings. Wood exited after nine innings of one-hit ball, and the Reds would later lose the game 1?0 in 11 innings, with Ruiz scoring the winning run. Wood hit his first career
home run
on September 4, 2010, off
St. Louis Cardinals
'
Adam Wainwright
. Wood finished the 2010 season 5?4 with a 3.51 ERA in 17 starts.
2011
[
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]
Wood went 6?6 with a 4.84 ERA in 22 games (18 starts) during the 2011 season.
Chicago Cubs
[
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]
On December 21, 2011, Wood was traded to the
Chicago Cubs
, along with outfielder
Dave Sappelt
and a minor league second baseman
Ronald Torreyes
in exchange for left-handed reliever
Sean Marshall
.
[4]
Wood was called up to the major league club in early May 2012 after
Chris Volstad
was demoted to Iowa because of his 0?6 start. Wood went 6?13 with a 4.27 ERA in his first year as a Cub.
On May 19, 2013, Wood became the first Cub since
Mordecai Brown
to start a season with 9 straight quality starts. On May 30, 2013, Wood hit his first career
grand slam
off of
Jake Peavy
in an 8?3 victory over the
Chicago White Sox
. On July 6, 2013, Wood was named to his first All-Star selection.
In 2014, Wood hit his 9th career homerun off of
St. Louis Cardinals
pitcher
Adam Wainwright
. Wood struggled in 2014, with a 5.03 ERA in 31 starts. After struggling in the rotation to start the 2015 season, Wood was moved to the bullpen. Wood fared much better as a reliever, posting a 2.95 ERA and 4 saves in relief. Overall, he finished the season with a 3.84 ERA in 54 games (9 starts). Working out of the bullpen in 2016, Wood posted a 4?0 record with a 2.95 ERA in 77 appearances. In Game 2 of the
NLDS
, Wood hit a home run off of
Giants'
reliever
George Kontos
. He became the second relief pitcher to homer in a postseason game, after
Rosy Ryan
in Game 3 of the
1924 World Series
. Wood won a
World Series ring
with the Cubs.
Kansas City Royals
[
edit
]
On February 15, 2017, Wood signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the
Kansas City Royals
. The contract includes a mutual option for the 2019 season.
[5]
Wood competed in spring training for a rotation spot but was ultimately moved to the bullpen to begin the season. At the beginning of July, Wood was moved to the starting rotation. Wood's overall numbers for the Royals were disappointing, sporting a career worst 6.91 ERA in 31 total appearances for the Royals.
San Diego Padres
[
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]
On July 24, 2017, the Royals traded Wood,
Matt Strahm
, and
Esteury Ruiz
to the
San Diego Padres
for
Trevor Cahill
,
Ryan Buchter
, and
Brandon Maurer
.
[6]
Wood was designated for assignment by the Padres on December 17, 2017,
[7]
and released on December 20.
[8]
Detroit Tigers
[
edit
]
On January 29, 2018, Wood signed a minor league contract with the
Detroit Tigers
.
[9]
However, Wood tore his
ACL
in spring training and the Tigers released him on March 8.
[10]
Pitching style
[
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]
Wood has an expansive pitch repertoire, throwing six pitches with regularity. He has three fastballs ? a
four-seamer
at 89?92 mph, a
two-seamer
at 88?91, and a
cutter
at 87?90. He also throws two
breaking balls
? a
slider
(80?83) and a
curveball
(71?75) ? and, finally, a
changeup
at 78?81. Wood's pitches to left-handed hitters are most often four-seamers, cutters, and sliders, with an occasional curveball. To right-handers, he throws the four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, and changeup.
[11]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Wood and his wife, Brittany, reside in
Alexander, Arkansas
with their daughter and son.
[12]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Rob Patrick (May 29, 2015).
"Bryant Athletic Hall of Honor, Class of 2015: Travis Wood ? Bryant Daily | Local Sports and more Bryant, Arkansas"
. Bryantdaily.com
. Retrieved
July 24,
2017
.
- ^
Sheldon, Mark (January 20, 2016).
"Reds make moves, fill out roster | MLB.com"
. Cincinnati.reds.mlb.com. Archived from
the original
on June 14, 2011
. Retrieved
July 24,
2017
.
- ^
"Herrera sent down to make room for Wood | MLB.com"
. Mlb.mlb.com. January 20, 2016
. Retrieved
July 24,
2017
.
- ^
Sean Marshall trade to Reds official
- ^
Flanagan, Jeffrey (February 15, 2017).
"Wood joins Royals on 2-year deal"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
7:00p ET (July 3, 2015).
"Padres acquire Strahm and Wood from Royals"
.
FOX Sports
. Retrieved
July 24,
2017
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Thornburg, Chad (December 17, 2017).
"Padres sign pitcher Lyles to 1-year deal"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
December 17,
2017
.
- ^
"San Diego Padres on Twitter"
.
Twitter
. December 20, 2017
. Retrieved
December 20,
2017
.
- ^
Fenech, Anthony (January 29, 2018).
"Detroit Tigers sign lefty Travis Wood to minor league deal"
.
freep.com
.
- ^
"Tigers Release Travis Wood"
.
- ^
"Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Travis Wood"
. Brooks Baseball
. Retrieved
June 14,
2012
.
- ^
"Travis Wood Stats, Fantasy & News"
.
MLB.com
.
External links
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]