Eric Wood signs with Chinese Professional Baseball League club
Ontario Blue Jays graduate Eric Wood (Pickering, Ont.) has signed with the Chinatrust Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Photo Credit: Amanda Fewer
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
After parts of seven seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, Pickering, Ont., native Eric Wood has signed with the Chinatrust Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
He is expected to join his new club for spring training in mid-February.
Selected by the Pirates in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB draft, Wood has played the bulk of the past two seasons in triple-A with Indianapolis Indians. In 86 games last season, he batted .269 with 11 home runs and posted an .808 OPS.
This followed Wood’s 2017 campaign in which the Canadian slugger, who can play the corner infield positions, as well as the outfield, belted a career-high 16 home runs for the Indians.
The 6-foot-1, 26-year-old attended Pickering High School and honed his skills with the Ontario Blue Jays. He was initially selected in the 37th round by the Oakland A’s in the 2011 MLB draft, but he elected not to sign and attended Blinn College in Brenham, Texas.
On top of his professional experience in the Pirates’ organization, Wood also suited up for the Canadian national team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
He will also compete for the national team in the Pan Am Games qualifier in Sao Paulo, Brazil that’s set to begin on January 29.