Notes: Wood sharp early; May, Nelson laid up
Ken Gurnick
@kengurnickGLENDALE, Ariz. -- Despite missing most of last season with a back injury, Alex Wood threw live batting practice on Tuesday. He wasn¡¯t eased into the fray.
¡°I faced Mookie [Betts], [Cody] Bellinger and [Corey] Seager -- welcome back,¡± Wood said with a laugh.
¡°Whoever set that up clearly doesn¡¯t like Alex Wood,¡± said president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Facing hitters this early in camp is just another sign that Wood is fit enough to win back a starting rotation spot, which is why the 29-year-old left-hander signed a free-agent contract to return to the Dodgers in the first place.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t have come back here if I wasn¡¯t in the rotation,¡± said Wood. ¡°I love these guys and this organization. When I saw that was my role, I hit the ground running. We wouldn¡¯t have rekindled this relationship if we weren¡¯t on the same page. I¡¯m excited, I feel great and I honestly can¡¯t wait to contribute to help win as many games as possible.
¡°I had eight teams that were in on me and those teams came to watch me throw, and I think I surprised them.¡±
Wood is back to using both his windup and stretch delivery, all incorporated in the tweaks he made with input from Driveline Baseball.
¡°I pitched good in ¡¯18, but my stuff then was nothing compared to what it is now,¡± he said. ¡°My breaking ball is really good now. Ready to get going.¡±
Noteworthy
? Right-handers Dustin May (left side tightness) and Jimmy Nelson (groin, lower back stiffness) missed another day of throwing. May said he expects to resume shortly.
? Outfielder Terrance Gore, signed on Monday, worked out on Tuesday. A speedster, Gore is being considered as a game-changing basestealer for the expansion of rosters to 26.
¡°With our front office and having that niche player that can impact the game off the bench, potentially defensively, is a conversation. And to bring a player like that in is good in the clubhouse and could make sense,¡± said manager Dave Roberts. ¡°He's got to play defense, but certainly to come in and pinch-run and impact the game like that in a plus or minus one-run game or a tie ballgame, you¡¯ve got to practice that, too. To his credit, he's done that.¡±
Gore, who signed a Minor League contract, has played only 100 Major League games in six seasons, with 40 steals, but also a .224 batting average.
? David Price threw a bullpen session Tuesday. The left-hander appears to be on a normal schedule despite wrist surgery last September.
? Non-roster invitee Tyler White, who played with the Dodgers last season but also played briefly on the 2017 Houston Astros, said of the Astros¡¯ sign stealing: ¡°It was wrong.¡± White was designated for assignment with the acquisitions of Betts and Price and then outrighted to the Minors when he cleared waivers. He is looking to win a bench job as a right-handed pinch-hitter.
He also said a change in medication for a thyroid condition over the offseason has improved his metabolism, led to welcome weight loss and made for more effective workouts.