Giants reach deal with ex-Dodgers lefty Wood

The San Francisco Giants finally have a left-handed pitcher in the mix for a rotation spot.

Alex Wood, an eight-year veteran who spent parts of five seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Giants on Thursday that includes performance bonuses that give Wood the chance to earn up to $6 million in 2021.

The southpaw has only pitched in 16 games over the past two seasons because of issues, but the Giants are hopeful that he’ll regain the form he showed during the prime of his career when Wood was one of the Dodgers’ most reliable starters.

Prior to the 2019 season, Wood had thrown more than 800 major league

innings and compiled a 3.29 ERA during stints with the Braves and Dodgers. A shoulder injury hampered Wood upon his return to Los Angeles as a free agent last offseason, limiting the 30-year-old to nine games and just two starts.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has seen Wood at his best, as the team’s top executive was the Dodgers’ general manager during the 2017 season when Wood repped Los Angeles as an All-Star and finished ninth in National League Cy Young Award voting.

If he remains healthy during spring training, Wood should be considered a front-runner for a job in the Giants’ starting rotation. He’s the only lefthander with extensive starting experience in the majors on the 40-man roster and the performance bonuses in his contract indicate the Giants view him as a candidate to pitch every fifth day.

Wood will earn bonuses for games pitched in which he records 10 outs or more including $125,000 for 12 and 14 such games, $250,000 for 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 games and $500,000 for 26, 28 and 30 games.

With Wood under contract through 2021, the four most experienced starters on the Giants’ roster are all set to become free agents at the end of the season. The group includes right-handers Johnny Cueto, Kevin Gausman and Anthony DeSclafani, who recently signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the club.

Others expected to vie for starting roles include second-year right-hander Logan Webb and former 2014 first round draft choice Tyler Beede, who underwent Tommy John surgery last March and is expected to be able to throw off a mound during spring training.