Kerry Wood talking with multiple clubs as deal with Cubs “far from done”

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Friday afternoon that the Cubs and Kerry Wood were getting closer on a one-year deal, but Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com is hearing that the veteran right-hander is still talking to multiple clubs and that a deal with Chicago is “far from done.”

Wood left a lot of money on table last offseason to sign a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cubs, but the 34-year-old reportedly wants a market value contract this winter after posting a 3.35 ERA and 57/21 K/BB ratio over 51 innings in 2011 while setting up for closer Carlos Marmol.

His opinion may have changed now that the club is headed for a full-scale rebuild, but Wood said after undergoing knee surgery last September that he would retire if the Cubs didn’t bring him back.

The Rockies fell 9-6 to the Orioles on Saturday, but the loss wasn’t without its bright spots. Case in point: Third baseman Nolan Arenado passed a significant career milestone on an Andrew Cashner fastball in the third inning, slugging the ball a projected 394 feet into the left field stands for his 200th career home run.

Arenado is the 34th active player to join the 200+ homer club and the first to do so since the Braves’ Freddie Freeman crossed that threshold on May 19. The three-run shot was the infielder’s 14th of the season and third since Friday, when he went deep twice against Orioles rookie John Means and reliever Shawn Armstrong. Following Saturday’s performance, he’s batting a robust .333/.377/.632 with 30 extra-base hits, 42 RBI, and a 1.009 OPS through 220 plate appearances.

He isn’t the only Rockies slugger making history, either. Arenado’s feat trailed that of Trevor Story, who clobbered an 0-2 pitch from Armstrong during the seventh inning of Friday’s 8-6 win. The two-run blast was his 100th home run in 448 career games, making him the fastest shortstop to reach the mark in MLB history.

The Rockies will vie for the series win as they round out the series on Sunday, with right-hander German Márquez scheduled to take the bump against fellow righty David Hess at 3:10 PM EDT.