World Series Wednesday: Travis Wood
Throughout the off-season, we will highlight players and staff weekly who stopped through Iowa on their way to making history with the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs. Today's spotlight shines on lefty Travis Wood.
Travis Wood
Drafted: 2nd round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2005
MLB Debut: July 1, 2010
Iowa Cubs Career: 3-3, 4.57 ERA, 7G, 7GS, 41.1IP, 48H, 22R, 21ER, 5HR, 11BB, 39K, 1.43 WHIP
Travis Wood became known for several things in 2016: he was the longest tenured Cub on the World Series Championship roster; he made the most appearances of any Cubs pitcher during the regular season; and as a pitcher, he can also hit home runs and play left field.
Though he'd been with the team since 2012, Wood's role was different in 2016. For the first time in his career, he pitched entirely out of the bullpen.
Until 2015, Wood had made 133 of his 137 major league appearances as a starting pitcher and added just three relief appearances in the minors. However, the off-season additions of Jon Lester and Jason Hammel and the eventual mid-season acquisition of Dan Haren pushed Wood to a relieving role for the Cubs.
Wood found success in his new position, posting a 2.95 ERA in 45 games compared to a 5.06 ERA through nine starts in 2015.
A breakout year for Jake Arrieta in 2015 and the signing of veteran right-hander John Lackey solidified a full-time role for Wood in the bullpen. Wood was a reliable arm for Chicago in 2016 and appeared in 77 games, the most of any Cub pitcher, and posted a 4-0 record with a 2.95 ERA. His season was highlighted not only by his success on the mound, but also by his contributions in other aspects of the game.
On August 1 against the Mariners, Wood took the ball with two on and nobody out in the sixth inning. After walking the first batter he faced, Wood settled in to retire the next three. In true Joe Maddon fashion, Wood was shuffled to left field in the seventh inning to keep him eligible to pitch in the eventual extra-inning contest. With one out in the inning, Franklin Gutierrez lifted a ball to left. Wood used his best batting-practice shagging skills to track the ball and make the grab while slamming into the ivy. His teammates and the crowd went nuts.
Wood's bat earned its notoriety in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. The lefty launched a 393-foot solo blast to left field to put the exclamation point on a Cubs' 5-2 victory. Wood became the second reliever in postseason history to knock one out and just the third Cubs pitcher of all-time to accomplish the feat during October baseball. It was the 10th homer of Wood's career - third most for an active MLB pitcher behind Madison Bumgarner (14) and Yovani Gallardo (12).
Wood finished the postseason with a 2.95 ERA (2ER/6.1IP) through nine appearances.
Just 29 years old, Wood has already amassed 12 years of professional service, including better parts of eight seasons in the major leagues. The lefty was drafted by Cincinnati in the second round of the 2005 draft out of Bryant High School and steadily worked through the Reds' farm system to his debut in 2010.
He made the jump to the Cubs in the 2011 off-season in a trade that also sent OF Dave Sappelt and INF Ronald Torreyes to Chicago in exchange for LHP Sean Marshall.
Wood began his Cubs' tenure with Iowa in 2012 and pitched to a 3-3 record with a 4.57 ERA through seven starts. That was the last time Wood saw the minor leagues as he was called-up for good on May 22. The lefty followed his Cubs' rookie campaign with a 6-6 record and a 2.79 ERA (38ER/122.2IP) in 19 first-half starts in 2013 to propel him to a spot on the National League All-Star team.
Wood has pitched in 220 games for the Cubs over the last five seasons with 98 starts. His Chicago career includes a 32-42 record with a 3.94 ERA and four saves over 691.1 innings pitched. He hits the free agent market this off-season for the first time in his career and with his history, could be a valuable piece to any organization as either a starter or a reliever.