Why Did the Atlanta Braves Trade Wood… and Peraza?

Alex Wood (40) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Wood

Wood was traded on the second anniversary of his first major league victory, coming in 2013.  Before the beginning of this season, fangraphs did an interesting comparison between he and White Sox ace Chris Sale.  The theme of this piece is that Wood is on track to approach the kinds of numbers Sale is putting up… perhaps even beating some.

The comparisons aren’t just with numbers, though:  both are southpaws, both have delivery styles that tend to scare sports-medicine professionals.

Both also have experienced interesting decreases in fastball velocities during their 2nd full season as well.  Here are the charts:

Alex Wood

Velocity Chart – BrooksBaseball.net

Chris Sale

Velocity Chart – BrooksBaseball.net

In the case of Sale, the speed loss at the end of 2012 seems to have been ‘fixed’ in 2013, and for the most part, he seems back near his previous peak of 95-96 mph.  He had recently had some injury concerns, though this has involved flexor tendons and not the dreaded ulnar collateral ligament.

With Wood, the velocity losses are similar, though rather consistent as well as he has dropped roughly 5 mph from his fastball over two years.

There is one big difference between the two hurlers, though:  Wood has had a ‘Tommy John‘ procedure performed on him (2009).  Now at six years post-surgery, he is now entering the window of time where the new ligament has ‘taken’ but could be susceptible to a new injury, at least according to one researcher.

Does any of this portend a new injury for Wood?  No – Not necessarily – he could bounce back and continue to have a Sale-like career.  But it should be concerning, and any further dips in velocity are going to negate the deception that is a major part of his pitching weaponry since hitters can diagnose an 89 mph sinking fastball much more readily that one at 95 mph.

So Why Was Wood Traded?

There are multiple possible reasons:

• The Dodgers wanted him.  I expect that Julio Teheran was pushed first, but LA would have wanted the pitcher with a better track record this season.
• The “Sell High” idea.  Wood’s ERA in 2015 has actually risen to 3.54 from 2.78 in 2014.  He has indeed struggled through some games without premium ‘stuff’… and velocity could certainly be a cause for that.  There’s a risk, then, that he’s not quite up to snuff and is slipping a bit.
• Fear (on the Braves side).  Fear of all of the above:  the occasional struggles, the lower velocity, the funky delivery, and the prior surgery.  Fear that he could soon become Jair Jurrjens or Mike Minor and ultimately be untradable.

So the Braves opted to cash in this high-value chip.