This past offseason, the Kansas City Royals made some moves that they hoped would benefit their team. One of the big free agent signings they inked was pitcher Travis Wood, who has been downright awful for the Royals.
When Yordano Ventura tragically passed away in January, the Kansas City Royals were in a tough spot. Obviously losing Ventura was awful, but spring training would begin in a month and they were now in critical need of another arm for the team.
The first signing came in the form of Jason Hammel, who many assumed would be the starter replacing Ventura. Those people would be right.
Another big signing was Travis Wood, who had experience as both a starter and a reliever. Wood got his shot to make the rotation, but was placed into the bullpen as a “long-term reliever”. He’s been anything but that to this point.
The fact of the matter is that Wood is no good.
Wood, who was coming off a great 2016 season with the Cubs, currently has a 9.31 ERA in 18 games and 19.1 innings. He’s been HORRIBLE and for awhile, wasn’t even sent out of the pen to pitch because he was so bad.
Wood’s 9.31 ERA is the second worst on the team, he’s only trailing Miguel Almonte who pitched one inning and has a 27.00 ERA. So technically, Wood really is the worst pitcher on the team and it’s not even close.
Not finding the strike zone has been a big problem for Wood this season and it’s showing. He’s walked 17 guys and only struck out 15 batters. For whatever reason, Wood can’t throw strikes and when he tries to, he throws it right down the middle for a guy to just demolish.
Here’s another mind blowing stat for all of you Royals fans: In the 18 games that Wood has appeared in this season, he’s only made it through six of them without giving up a run. SIX GAMES OUT OF 18 TOTAL! That’s awful.
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Wood was excellent in Chicago last year and only surrendered 24 runs ALL SEASON. He’s already given up 21 this year…. in just 18 games. Last year he appeared in 77 games. Something is clearly off with Travis Wood.
I was excited when the Kansas City Royals had inked Travis Wood to a deal this past offseason, but everyone knows that the guy is a huge liability. Any time he’s put into a game now, it’s either because the Royals have a huge lead (still not a good idea) or because the team is trailing by a ton.
No one knows for sure what’s wrong with Travis Wood this season, but he’s been a huge bust in Kansas City. Perhaps he’s not used to the American League and isn’t familiar with the batters, but the fact of the matter is that Wood is no good.
Unfortunately for the Royals, they’re stuck with Travis Wood for at least another season… assuming they don’t just cut ties with him and pay him his earnings regardless.
What are your thoughts on Travis Wood?