{"id":56480,"date":"2025-08-09T08:08:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T08:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/56480\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T08:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T08:08:07","slug":"alex-wood-announces-retirement-mlb-trade-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/56480\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Wood Announces Retirement – MLB Trade Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Wood<\/a> announced his retirement in a social media post<\/a> on Friday afternoon. The 34-year-old southpaw steps away after an MLB career that spanned parts of 12 seasons and included an All-Star nod and a World Series title.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor over half my life, every decision I\u2019ve made has centered around how it would impact my baseball career. I\u2019ve given every ounce of myself in pursuit of my lifelong dream of becoming a big leaguer. Playing 12 years in the show, reaching seven postseasons, winning a World Series, and earning an All-Star selection \u2014 I never could\u2019ve imagined it would turn out this way,\u201d Wood wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball was my first love. Outside of God and my family, nothing else has shaped me the way this game has. Even writing this, I can\u2019t help but smile thinking about how much I still love the game after all this time.\u201d Wood goes on to thank his teammates, coaches, former teams, family and agents in a statement that readers can see in the post.<\/p>\n

Wood attended the University of Georgia and was a second-round pick by the Braves in 2012. He was in the big leagues less than a year later. Wood turned in a 3.13 ERA in 77 2\/3 innings in a swing role during the \u201913 season. He helped the Braves to a 96-win season and an NL East title, making his first two playoff appearances in a Division Series loss to the Dodgers. He posted a 2.78 ERA across 171 2\/3 innings a year later, seemingly establishing himself as a long-term rotation piece in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not how things played out. Wood was carrying a 3.54 ERA over 20 starts the following year when the Braves made the regrettable decision to send him to the Dodgers in a 13-player, three-team trade<\/a> to get then-prospect Hector Olivera<\/a>. (Olivera went on to bat .245 in 30 major league games before a suspension for violating the league\u2019s domestic violence policy ended his career.) Wood dealt with a few injuries but had a strong run in Los Angeles, highlighted by a career year in 2017.<\/p>\n

That season, the southpaw won a career-high 16 games while posting a 2.72 earned run average in 27 regular season appearances. Wood earned his lone All-Star nod and finished ninth in NL Cy Young voting. He added 12 1\/3 frames of four-run ball with 13 strikeouts in the postseason. It was the first of consecutive seasons in which he played a big role in the Dodgers winning the pennant. They returned to the Fall Classic in 2018, a season in which Wood recorded a 3.68 ERA over 151 2\/3 innings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wood\u2019s first stint in Dodger blue ended after their second straight World Series defeat. Los Angeles packaged him alongside Yasiel Puig<\/a>, Matt Kemp<\/a> and\u00a0Kyle Farmer<\/a> to the Reds for prospects\u00a0Josiah Gray<\/a> and\u00a0Jeter Downs<\/a> (whom they\u2019d later include in respective trades for\u00a0Max Scherzer<\/a>\/Trea Turner<\/a> and\u00a0Mookie Betts<\/a>). Wood was a rental, and his only season in Cincinnati was marred by back problems.<\/p>\n

He returned to L.A. the following winter on a buy-low $4MM free agent pact. Shoulder trouble combined with the shortened schedule limited him to 12 2\/3 regular season innings, but Wood contributed 6 2\/3 frames of one-run ball in October as the Dodgers went on to win the World Series. He signed with the Giants on a $3MM contract that winter. That proved an adept pickup, as Wood was able to make 26 starts while working to a 3.83 ERA for San Francisco\u2019s shocking 107-win team. He worked 4 2\/3 scoreless against the Dodgers in his lone playoff start, though the Giants came up just short in a five-game Division Series.<\/p>\n

Wood re-signed with San Francisco on a two-year, $25MM free agent deal that didn\u2019t pan out. He had an ERA north of 5.00 in 2022 and struggled with injuries the following season. He gave it another go on an $8.5MM contract with the A\u2019s last year. His body again couldn\u2019t hold up, as he only made nine starts before suffering a rotator cuff injury that required season-ending surgery. It\u2019s an unfortunate ending but hardly diminishes Wood\u2019s overall body of work.<\/p>\n

He tallied more than 1200 innings with a 3.78 ERA between five teams. Wood won 77 games and recorded more than 1100 strikeouts. He was a solid playoff performer as well, posting a 3.11 mark in 37 2\/3 innings divided across seven seasons. Injuries limited the volume, especially later in his career, but Wood was a quality mid-rotation starter when healthy throughout his 20s. He has a World Series ring and collected over $60MM in earnings, according to Baseball Reference. MLBTR congratulates Wood on an impressive career and wishes him the best in retirement.<\/p>\n

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.<\/p>\n