I had some fun at Brandon Wood’s expense yesterday, but today I want to address the situation in earnest (sort of). The Angels have a very difficult decision on their hands when it comes to finding a role for Brandon Wood. He is still too young and promising to just bury him on the bench for the rest of the season, but a contending team can’t afford to keep handing him at-bats if he continues to perform at epically tragic levels, especially not when they have Maicer Izturis and Kevin Frandsen stepping up their games ever since Wood was placed on the DL. It is the classic damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario with no obvious answer.
You Make the Call! What should the Angels do with Brandon Wood now that he is back from the disabled list?
A) Let him play! The Angels have invested too much time and effort into developing Wood and need to give him one last real shot at proving his worth. Hand the third base job back to him on a full-time basis for a few weeks to see if whatever confidence he found during his rehab assignment will finally let him relax at the plate and start hitting like we all know he can. Getting a Wood who can actually hit for big power and be a real run-producer at this point of the season would be like making a big trade at the deadline, only it won’t cost them anything. The Angels have to see if they can’t get that kind of value from him, especially in light of Kendry Morales’ absence.
B) He is just going to have to fight for at-bats like everyone else. All the Angel injuries should still allow him to get a few starts a week at either third, first or shortstop. If he is serving as a part-time player, he won’t feel the pressure that he felt earlier in the season which might get him to start producing. Besides, Maicer Izturis and Kevin Frandsen deserve to play as much (if not more than) Wood does, so why punish them?
C) Screw him, he was given more than ample opportunity to prove himself this year and he failed miserably. He shouldn’t get another chance just because he hit a bunch of homers in Single-A a few years ago. Tell him to grab some pine and try again next season.
SECRET OPTION D) Why is this even a decision? This isn’t the first time he has failed at the big league level. He has gotten looks in three different big league seasons and not once has he shown any real sign that he can hack it in the majors. He should consider himself lucky that the Angels don’t just trade or outright release his underachieving ass.