Chicago Cubs trying to retain Kerry Wood – MLB News
As the news reports surfaced on Tuesday that Kerry Wood may be in negotiations with the Philadelphia Phillies for a deal, the Chicago Cubs have sprung into action to keep the reliever with the club.
The 34-year-old reliever had previously stated that he had a couple of year’s game left in him and he gave an indication that he might well be moving to another club – which was insinuated as his possible departure to the Phillies.
However, the Chicago Cubs’ general manager Jed Hoyer said on Tuesday, January 10, that the team is talking to the free-agent reliever and wants to get Kerry back in the club, offering him a ‘substantial raise’.
What sets this reliever apart is his untiring and indomitable devotion to the club and the town he hails from. That is what the club values as well. In one of the interviews previously, Wood had referred to his wish that he wanted to stay with the team.
"We both understand the history of the organization and understand which players mean a lot to the fans and the fan base and Kerry is one of them," Hoyer said Tuesday. "That's something we're aware of. Fresh eyes are one thing, but that doesn't mean you
ignore the rich past the Cubs have."
However, much of the things seem to have changed now. Wood recently commented that there was always a room for change. Nonetheless, emphasis be made that he is showing no hurry.
"Kerry Wood is exactly the type of guy we want to build a winning culture here in Chicago," Epstein said. "I would be greatly, greatly disappointed if we're not able to bring him back."
While he has once remained the Rookie of the Year in 1998, Wood had his appearance in 55 games in 2011 whereby he had five losses, winning three of the games. He gave up a total of 19 runs in the 51 innings. The career average of the player stands at 3.64
whereby he also had 178 starts in the initial phase of his career.
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