Less than 12 months ago, right-hander Randy Wells announced his retirement from the game of baseball. Now, however, the former Cub is looking to make a comeback, he told David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat.
The 31-year-old Wells recently threw for a Diamondbacks area scout in St. Louis and is hoping to prove his health to teams with the end goal of securing a minor league deal and an invitation to big league Spring Training. Wells admits that his comeback attempt may be "far-fetched," but renewed health has him looking for a chance regardless:
"I can't expect a whole lot. It's not like people are knocking down my door or anything like that. I quit because of injury. Not a lot of people are going to take a flier on a 31-year-old guy just to bring him into minor-league camp to see if he's healthy."
Wells last appeared in the Majors with the Cubs in 2012, posting a 5.34 ERA in 28 2/3 innings before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. The ACES client inked a minor league deal with the Rangers in the 2012-13 offseason and made five rocky starts for their Triple-A affiliate last season before deciding to hang it up due to his elbow issues.
Despite the rough couple of seasons, Wells has shown that he can succeed at the big league level. He finished sixth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2009 after pitching to a 3.05 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 165 1/3 innings for the Cubs. In 529 career big league innings, Wells has a 4.08 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 45.8 percent ground-ball rate. He is interested in coaching if he cannot find an opportunity to pitch, he told Wilhelm.
