Hot Stove Digest: Travis Wood signs two-year deal with Royals
Welcome to The Stew’s Hot Stove Digest, our daily rundown of MLB news, rumors and gossip for Hot Stove season. Here you’ll find a quick recap of all the day’s action and other fun stuff from around the internet that we think is worth your time.
BRING HIM IN: The Kansas City Royals have signed pitcher Travis Wood to a two-year deal. By most rankings, Wood was the best pitcher left on the market. After posting a 2.95 ERA over 61 innings with the Chicago Cubs, Wood ranked as the 38th best player on the market this winter according to our own Jeff Passan.
Those numbers came with Wood pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. With the Royals, he’ll have a chance to start again. Prior to 2016, Wood spent the majority of his career as a starter. He has a career 4.19 ERA when used in the rotation. [@jcrasnick]
DONE DEAL: The Washington Nationals have signed first baseman Adam Lind to a one-year deal. The 33-year-old Lind hit .239/.286/.431, with 20 home runs, over 430 plate appearances with the Seattle Mariners last season. The deal will pay Lind $1 million in 2017 and contains a team option for 2018.
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With Washington, Lind is expected to serve as a backup to Ryan Zimmerman at first. Zimmerman has been limited by both injuries and ineffectiveness over the past few years, so Lind is insurance in case he gets injured or needs additional days off. There has also been talk of Lind playing some outfield, but he hasn’t appeared in that role since 2010. [@JonHeyman]
GET HEALTHY: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is hoping to return to the mound by June. Bailey underwent elbow surgery in early February, and is expected to miss about four-to-six weeks of action. He’ll need additional time to build up his arm strength, which is why a June return seems more likely.
It’s the third arm surgery Bailey has undergone over the past few seasons. He had a flexor tendon repaired in 2014, and underwent Tommy John in 2015. Because of that, he’s been limited to just eight starts over the past two seasons. [MLB.com]
HIM TOO: The Royals have also added reliever Seth Maness on a minor-league deal. Maness, 28, posted a 3.41 ERA over 31 2/3 innings with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016. He was injured late in the year, and underwent “primary repair” surgery in August. The procedure is similar to Tommy John, though it may lead to faster recovery times. Maness said in January he expected to be ready by opening day. While his signing isn’t big news, his health and performance this season could play a huge role in whether this procedure catches on and replaces Tommy John surgery. [@dgoold]
MAKING MOVES: The Arizona Diamondbacks have added pitchers Brian Matusz and Kevin Jepsen on minor-league deals. Matusz, 30, spent most of last season in the minors. He tossed just nine innings in the majors, posting a 14.00 ERA. The 32-year-old Jepsen posted a 5.98 ERA over 49 2/3 innings with two different teams in 2016. [@SteveGilbertMLB and @masnRoch]
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ONE MORE: The Baltimore Orioles have signed infielder Chris Johnson to a minor-league deal. Johnson, 32, hit .222/.281/.329 over 264 plate appearances with the Miami Marlins last season. If he makes the Orioles roster, he would likely serve as a utility man. Johnson saw time at first, third and in the outfield in 2016. [@ChrisCotillo]
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
