Levine: Cubs' Travis Wood On Comeback Trail

MESA, Ariz. (CBS) -- The Cubs and their fan base are wondering which Travis Wood will show up in 2015.

The Wood of 2013 was one of the top pitchers in the National League, representing them as their lone All-Star that season. With a 5.03 ERA, the 2014 version of Wood was only a shadow of the pitcher who had a 3.11 ERA the previous season.

Wood went through a difficult spring training and early season grind in 2014. His agents were in the midst of getting a three-year deal completed with some security for Wood and his young family when negotiations fell apart. Although the gutty left-hander never complained, people close to him believed it was a distraction that he never recovered from.

"Basically I tried to put (2014) behind me," Wood said after his first spring outing. " In my mind it did not take me long to put it behind me. My goal was to get stronger and really attacking the zone. You always learn more when you fail than when you when you do well. I had to learn how when you fail to pick yourself back up. That is what I took into the offseason. Hopefully, I keep moving forward."

The 28-year-old Wood has had his ups and downs during his major league career. His big-league clock began with Cincinnati in 2010. In one of  Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein's first moves, he traded veteran reliever Sean Marshall to the Reds for Wood in December 2011. Wood had a terrible spring training and ended up at Triple-A to start the 2012 campaign.

After posting a 6-13 record with a 4.27 ERA in 2012, Wood had a breakout season in 2013. He also gained a work-horse reputation, throwing 200 innings for the first time. In 2014, his ERA went up almost two full runs while his innings pitched dropped by 27.

Wood is in a battle for the fifth starter's spot with three other pitchers. He was perfect in two innings in his Cactus League start Thursday.

"The team is trying to put the best 25 out there," Wood said in response to why he wasn't given a rotation slot yet. "That is why you come into spring training and try to earn everything you get."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.