Breaking: Travis Wood Signing with Royals (Updated)
Looks like those reports about a couple of unnamed teams joining the Cubs and Padres in the Travis Wood sweepstakes were accurate. As first broken by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Wood will be joining Jason Hammel.
Travis Wood is signing with the #royals, source says.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) February 13, 2017
Travis Wood is expected to compete for a spot in #royals starting rotation, according to source.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) February 13, 2017
That latter note is important in light of Wood’s desire to land a starting role. Was the Royals’ deal that much greater than what the Cubs had offered? Was Wood in the same boat with his once and future teammate Hammel when it came to his relationship with Joe Maddon?
More on the story as it becomes available.
UPDATE
As reported by FanRag’s Jon Heyman, Wood’s deal is for two years and a guaranteed $12 million, which is just slightly more than what I’d guessed the Cubs had offered ($5 AAV plus incentives).
Wood gets $12M for the 2 yrs in royals deal
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 13, 2017