Where Does Alex Wood Fit with the A's?

How will the rotation look, and which player could be removed from the roster with the addition of Alex Wood to the Oakland A's?

Over the weekend, it was reported that former San Francisco Giants closer Alex Wood was in agreement to join the Oakland A's, pending a physical. The deal has not been announced by the club, therefore is not official just yet, but let's charge ahead and see where the left-hander fits on the 2024 club. 

After spending most of his career as a starter, that's likely the role we'll see him in, at least to begin the season. How long he stays there will be up to how healthy he is over the course of the year, and how effective he is. The A's have numerous young options that could use some turns through the rotation, so if he's not cutting it, then he could be moved to the bullpen. He held a 2.68 ERA as a relief pitcher last season with the Giants in 17 appearances that spanned 50 1/3 innings. As a starter he held a 6.08 ERA in 12 outings, going 47 1/3 innings. 

In his final start on September 6th, he was sitting at 90.5 miles per hour with his sinker, topping out at 92.6. A week later he tossed four innings in relief and sat at 91.1, touching 92.2. He averaged 91.5 on the year, which was a tick down from 2022. Despite the velocity dip, he was able to keep the ball off the barrel a fair amount, ranking in the 82nd percentile in barrel%. 

Wood, 34, has a career 3.74 ERA, and a 4.41 ERA over the past three seasons in San Francisco. His FIP in those three years has been 3.85. While he's not a flashy signing, he's likely going to be at least league average if not a little better.

So where does he fit with the A's? 

He's going to be slotted into the rotation with JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, and Luis Medina to begin the season. Medina is out of options, which likely lands him in the starting five to begin the year. From there, it'll be between Joe Boyle, Mitch Spence (Rule 5), and Osvaldo Bido (FA) for that final spot. 

Spence will presumably make the Opening Day roster given his Rule 5 status, either as a starter of a reliever. Either Bido or Boyle would grab a spot in whichever role Spence doesn't claim, while the other would begin the year in Triple-A with a number of other pitchers hoping for their own opportunity. 

That still leaves the larger question of which player the A's will choose to remove from the 40-man roster in order to make room for Wood. Ideally you'd want a player that could pass through waivers, therefore remaining in the organization. Either that, or trade away a player to make room. A trade seems unlikely at this point in the off-season, especially with the deadline that they'd be working against to get a deal done, giving the A's front office less leverage to get the best return possible. 

So that leaves removing someone from the 40-man. Kyle Muller struggled with a 7.80 ERA last season and is out of options heading into 2024, but is also projected to be nearly as good as most of the A's pitching options this season with a 4.67 ERA, or a little worse league average. That would be a nice step forward for the southpaw in year two with the A's. 

Depending on the team's plans for him, Adrián Martínez could be a name that's discussed. He had a cumulative 4.75 ERA last year, primarily out of the bullpen, and he has one option remaining. That option would give the team some extra roster flexibility this season. Even with his results being decent compared to Muller's, being a lefty has its advantages. 

Of the bullpen options that are likely to begin in Las Vegas, there is Angel Felipe, 26, who tossed 15 innings with Oakland last season and produced a 3.52 FIP while possessing shaky command, or Francisco Pérez, 26, a lefty that had a 3.20 FIP in 16 2/3 innings with the A's, but doesn't have the same strikeout ability as Felipe. 

If the team is looking to remove a pitcher, it will likely be one of those four options, and they each have varying reasons for why they should stick with the organization. 

It's also important to note that the addition of Wood will potentially provide the A's with a trade piece at the deadline if he can have a solid first half. That's not a bad pitch to impending free agents honestly. "We'll give you playing time at the position you prefer, and if you perform we'll trade you to a contending team." It's a wonder they haven't done this more this off-season with a projected payroll of $40 million.