There was a time when Alex Wood was considered to be a key part of the Atlanta Braves' pitching staff's future. The Braves snatched Wood up in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of the University of Georgia and he performed so well that he made his big league debut the next season. After a strong season in 2024, there was a lot of hype around what Wood could turn into before the disaster that was the Hector Olivera trade struck.
Younger Braves fans may not remember, but the Olivera trade was a big deal at the time. Olivera was a very high profile international signee that the Braves' general manager at the time (who ended up encountering his own trials tribulations) John Coppolella coveted. Coppolella ended up giving up five players including Wood as well as top prospect Jose Peraza in order to acquire a guy that ended up getting arrested for assault and flaming out of the league in spectacular fashion.
While the Braves were left with nothing but regret, Wood would go on to make the All-Star team in 2017 and playing for the Dodgers, Reds, Giants, and Athletics through last season. Unfortunately, his effectiveness the last several years declined as the injuries piled up and on Friday, he decided to call it a career as Wood announced his retirement from baseball.
Formes Braves pitcher Alex Wood just announced his retirement from baseball
It is a shame that Wood's career had to end this way because he was an immensely talented pitcher. Unfortunately, injuries to his back and especially his shoulder started to accumulate over time, culminating in needing season-ending shoulder surgery last season. Clearly his shoulder issues were rough enough that mounting a comeback at his age was no longer an option and Wood decided it was time.
Baseball has it's own way of telling you when your time playing is over. The calls from teams in the offseason get fewer and fewer and recovering from the grind of the long season gets harder and harder. At some point, even getting an opportunity at all becomes more effort than it is worth and it sounds like that is what happened with Wood here.
Enjoy a well-earned retirement, sir. The number of players that put together 12 year careers is very small and you are in an exclusive club thanks to a lot of talent and hard work. Braves fans wish that they could have seen you in an Atlanta uniform longer, if for no other reason being that that would mean the Olivera trade never happened.