Every Single 2020 Free Agent the Blue Jays could be Interested in
By Reuben Gasee
Hunter Wood
Hunter Wood didn’t pitch at all in 2020 as he spent the whole season at Cleveland’s alternate training site without ever getting called up to the major league roster.
In 2019 split with the Rays and Cleveland, which he was acquired by the latter at the trade deadline, he appeared in 36 games posting an ERA of 2.98 over 45.1 innings pitched.
In 2018 with the Rays, he pitched in 29 games with eight of those being starts compiling a 3.73 ERA, striking out 42 batters and giving up the same amount of hits compared to strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.
Combine those two seasons together and you have a record of 2-2 with a 3.32 ERA over 66 games (10 starts), 81 strikeouts over 88 hits given up with an opponent average of .259 across 86.2 innings pitched from Wood.
There are a few reasons why the Blue Jays could bring in Wood. One, he would come with four years of control and would make the major league minimum in 2020 making him a cheap addition.
Two, he can come to Spring Training to compete for a spot in the bullpen. If he does make the team, he can serve in a similar role to what Sam Gaviglio used to do. He would pitch in multiple innings out of the bullpen which came in handy when a starter struggled early on in the game.
Three, as he has experience starting, he can make a spot start if needed, which could arise at one point during the season.
There’s no downside of bringing in Wood and at least giving him a shot.