Alex Wood is set to unleash 'funky' delivery with Dodgers

Dodgers new starting pitcher Alex Wood, who was acquired from the Braves in a 13-player trade, has a funky delivery but has put up solid numbers.

By Steve Dilbeck

Aug. 3, 2015 5:19 PM PT

Understand this right off, you’re going to have to get used to it. Repeated viewings will not make it appear any more traditional.

Alex Wood will make his debut for the Dodgers on Tuesday in Philadelphia. When he goes into his windup in Citizens Bank Park, a second take may be in order. And then a third take.

The left-hander has a delivery that could be called … what exactly?

“A little different,” Manager Don Mattingly said.

“Unique,” pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said.

“Funky,” Wood said.

What the Atlanta Braves mostly called it the last three years was successful. The 24-year-old from North Carolina has a career record of 21-20 with a 3.10 earned-run average the last three seasons. He joined the Dodgers last week as part of a 13-player, three-team trade and was immediately put into the rotation.

One thing the Braves never did was try to change his herky-jerky motion: his left hand curved behind and almost a foot beyond his body, his upper torso leaning back, and then a small front step that gives off the impression of a three-quarter delivery.

Honeycutt says the Dodgers have another pretty good left-hander whose “delivery has a little funk to it, too.”

Clayton Kershaw.

“When you see arms and legs coming at you and then all of a sudden, here’s the ball,” Honeycutt said. “Whatever works for each individual. He’s pitched pretty well with the way he throws.”

The boyish-looking, 6-foot-4 Wood went to college at Georgia and was considered a local boy in Atlanta, where the trade was not well received. He’s a young pitcher with a strong track record who can remain under team control until he’s first eligible to become a free agent in 2020.

The other starter the Dodgers acquired at the nonwaiver trade deadline Friday, Mat Latos, can become a free agent at the end of the season.

“We always had the notion that adding one clause-controlled pitcher, particularly if the second add was a rental, might work well together,” General Manager Farhan Zaidi said. “So kind of looking around the league for clause-controlled pitchers, and Alex’s track record — having a 3.10 career ERA, a guy who strikes out guys, gets ground balls, doesn’t walk players — fit a lot of what we were looking for.”

Wood was initially stunned at learning about the trade, figuring he was in the Braves’ long-term plans. But once he realized the deal was happening, Wood said he quickly became excited.

“I had lunch with my agent last week and told him if there was ever a place I wanted to go and play for, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Wood said during his introductory news conference. “So it’s funny how things worked out.”

The next day, Wood said he was not implying he wanted to leave the Braves, who were not only patient with his delivery, but in returning from 2009 Tommy John surgery.

“It was a dream come true to start my career in Atlanta,” he said. “I loved my time there. I was home.

“I wasn’t saying this was my first choice. I was saying if there was some place else that I would ever want to play, it would 100% be here. They’re all about winning, and so am I. That’s the most exciting part about it.”

Having pitched in the National League East for most of the last three seasons, Wood is well versed with the Philadelphia Phillies. He has faced them 12 times, including seven starts, and is 3-2 with 3.07 ERA. This season, he is 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA against Philadelphia.

Many of Wood’s numbers, his peripherals, were better last season, when he finished 11-11 with a 2.78 ERA. This season, he is 7-6 with a 3.54 ERA, and according to Brooks Baseball, his fastball has gone from an average of 92.52 mph his rookie season in 2013 to 90.24 mph in 2015.

After the All-Star break, he held the Dodgers to three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings — in a start in May he held them to one run in seven innings — and in his last start, July 27 against the Baltimore Orioles, he threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings.

“In all truth, it’s probably been the first time since my first full season back from Tommy John that I’ve had a little bit of ups and downs and taken my lumps,” Wood said. “But I think it’s been good. Every year is a new learning experience for me. It’ll make me better in the long run.

“It was mainly at the start of the season. But putting up the numbers I am with having those ups and downs this year, it gives me confidence for the future.

“I definitely think my best is yet to come.”

sports@latimes.com

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