Brian Cashman added a piece to the Yankees’ bullpen puzzle by trading for Kerry Wood about a half an hour before the deadline came. The deal is complete, according to Joel Sherman, but “awaiting (Bud Selig’s) approval on dollars that Indians are sending Yankees.”
If you’re worried about Wood’s long, injury-filled history, read this Jon Heyman teet:
#yankees have found relief market dismal. wood just came back from DL, and if hes healthy, he has a chance to be great
I’m surprised he said he could be “great.” Wood hasn’t been great as a reliever since 2008, but Heyman is a safe guy to believe.
Wood was NOT one of the top relievers available at this trade deadline — Joakim Soria, Scott Downs and Matt Capps were — but the Yankees were on Soria’s no-trade list and the asking prices for Downs and Capps were too high.
Chad Qualls went to the Rays, the Yanks’ top competitor, so if you look at it from that standpoint the Yankees added a better reliever — plus two hitters. Qualls was the anchor weighing down the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, the worst in the majors. Here are Wood’s career numbers as a full-time reliever since 2007:
