Tim Wood

TIM WOOD
RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
  Born: November 16, 1982
Height: 6′ 0″
Weight: 180
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 44th Round, 1310th Overall, 2002 (Marlins)
How Acquired: Minor League Contract
High School: Sabino HS (Tucson, AZ)
Agent: Jonathan Maurer, Millennium Sports Management

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Wood will be on his second go-round with the Pirates in as many years.  They first signed him to a minor league deal after the Nationals released him at the end of spring training in 2011.  He was with the Nats on a minor league deal and may have had an out clause in case he didn’t make the team out of spring training.  Wood’s signing led to an amusing incident where a certain know-nothing Pittsburgh Post-Gazette blogger ridiculed the team for signing Wood to address their pitching problems, only to remove his post quietly when he realized it was only a minor league deal.  The team then signed him again shortly after the 2011 season, after he had a short hiatus with the Rangers’ organization.

Baseball America rated Wood 17th on the Marlins’ top prospect list going into 2009 and 20th going into 2010.  His fastball reaches the mid-90s and has averaged about 93 in the majors, according to Fangraphs.  He also throws a slider around 86 and an occasional change.  He’s had a sizable reverse platoon split in the majors, but the sample size is so small that it probably doesn’t mean anything.  In the minors he’s generally been a moderate groundball pitcher and has usually kept the ball in the park, but he hasn’t had impressive K rates in most years.  He’s had a significant injury history.

2003
A-:  0-2-2, 5.35 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 38.2 IP, 6.5 BB/9, 7.4 K/9

Signed as a draft and follow and struggled through his opening season the NYPL, a lot of it due to control problems.  He worked as both a starter and reliever.

2004
A:  2-3-1, 4.22 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 70.1 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

Wood pitched much better in full season ball, with very good walk and K rates.  The ERA resulted mainly from 12 gopher balls.  This was the only year that was a problem for Wood.

2005
A:  1-2-0, 9.28 ERA, 2.06 WHIP, 21.1 IP, 6.3 BB/9, 4.2 K/9

Wood returned to high A and struggled through five starts before having Tommy John surgery.

2006
A+:  2-7-0, 5.83 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 63.1 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 7.4 K/9

Wood moved up to high A and started 16 games in his “recovery year,” mostly struggling.

2007
A+:  0-2-0, 3.81 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 26 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

Began the season pitching well after move to bullpen, only to encounter shoulder problems that BA described as “minor.”  He appeared in only 17 games on the season.

2008
A+:  5-2-1, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 40 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 5.0 K/9
AA:  2-1-0, 5.75 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 6.6 K/9

Had strong season in high A, except for a low K rate.  His peripheral stats after a promotion to AA were much better than his ERA.  The Marlins placed him on the 40-man roster after the season.

2009
AAA:  1-2-0, 3.18 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 39.2 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 8.4 K/9
MLB:  1-0-0, 2.82 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 6.4 K/9

Had a much improved K rate in AAA, while allowing a lot of baserunners.  Came up to the majors briefly in late June and for the rest of the year in early August.  His peripherals weren’t as good as his ERA, but he pitched fairly well overall.

2010
AAA:  0-1-0, 6.43 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 14 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 7.7 K/9
MLB:  0-1-1, 5.53 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 4.9 BB/9, 3.3 K/9

Wood opened the season in the majors but struggled, including some outings where he couldn’t throw strikes.  He fanned very few hitters.  Florida sent him to the minors in July and he got hit hard there.  The Marlins removed him from the 40-man roster after the season and he became a free agent.

2011
AAA (Pgh):  2-0-23, 2.84 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 44.1 IP, 2.4 BB/9, 6.5 K/9
AAA (Tex):  0-0-1, 9.64 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, 4.2 IP, 5.8 BB/9, 3.9 K/9
MLB (Pgh):  0-3-0, 5.63 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 2.3 K/9

Wood spent most of the season at Indianapolis as the closer and pitched very well there.  With a low walk, but also a low K, rate.  He got called up in June and appeared in 13 games over three weeks.  The Pirates during that period were playing close, low-scoring games nearly every day and Wood got called into probably more tight spots that would have been ideal.  He got scored upon in three of the 13 games and it cost him a loss each time.  Overall he had significant control problems.  The Pirates optioned him back to Indianapolis and eventually sent him to Texas in a late season trade, probably to fill an opening that the Rangers had in AAA.

2012
AAA:  6-6-21, 2.19 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 70.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 8.6 K/9

The Pirates signed Wood to a minor league deal with a non-roster invitation to spring training.  He served as the Indianapolis closer all year and again did a good job, but he didn’t get another callup.

Wood has a good arm and is a good pitcher at the AAA level.  He could still get another chance in the majors, but the Pirates have enough depth now in younger pitchers that it probably won’t be in Pittsburgh.  Odds are Wood will sign elsewhere for 2013.

STATS
Baseball Reference– Majors
Baseball Reference– Minors
Fangraphs
MLB.com
MiLB.com
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2012: Minor league contract
2011:
League Minimum
2010: N/A
2009: $400,000
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2003
MLB Debut: 2009
MLB FA Eligible: 2016
MiLB FA Eligible: 2012
Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible
Added to 40-Man: 11/20/2008
Options Remaining: 0 (USED: 2009, 2010, 2011)
MLB Service Time: 0.164
TRANSACTIONS
June 4, 2002: Drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 44th round, 1310th overall pick.
May 26, 2003: Signed by the Florida Marlins as a draft-and-follow.
November 20, 2008: Contract purchased by the Florida Marlins.
October 6, 2010: Outrighted to AAA by the Florida Marlins.
November 6, 2010:
Granted free agency.
November 12, 2010: Signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.
March 31, 2011:
Released by the Washington Nationals.
April 1, 2011: Signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
June 10, 2011:
Contract purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
August 18, 2011: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash.
October 3, 2011: Became a minor league free agent.
November 1, 2011: Signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.