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| Hopefully Kerry Wood will be a Cub for life. |
Wood provides immediate closer insurance. With Sean Marshall traded, Wood will be the primary setup man in 2012 until further notice. He'll make $3 million on this one-year deal. Even though he had said he would rather retire than play for anyone besides the Cubs, he showed interest in the Phillies' offer of $4 million over one year. Wood actually agreed to a deal with a team, which may or may not have been the Phillies, and was pending a physical to make the deal official when the Cubs swooped in with a better offer. He voided his deal and signed with the Cubs.
The $3 million marks a significant pay raise for a reliever. Wood accepted $1.5 million over one year last winter from the Cubs despite receiving a two-year, $10 million offer from the White Sox and a similarly better offer from the Red Sox. This winter, however, Wood was less willing to take a hometown discount. The size of player salaries today makes me cringe at times, but Wood was absolutely right to want more money in this situation.
The Cubs needed to pay up because this guy represents way, way more than a veteran setup man trying to finish his career full circle. If the Cubs have serious hope of keeping him in the organization, they need him to finish his career as a player. Andre Dawson and Mark Grace are prime examples of Cubs greats who escaped at their end of their careers and began post-playing careers in Florida and Arizona, respectively. Wood wants to stay in Chicago and the fans want him. I'm glad the front office made the right call here.
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