"Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood may be the missing link to a young and improving bullpen on the north side of Chicago. A source familiar with the situation said Wood would be welcomed back to the Cubs organization if general manager Jim Hendry has enough money in the offseason to be able to sign Wood and add the other dimensions to become a contender.

The Cubs' need three major elements to contend for the NL Central in 2011 are a left-handed RBI bat, starting pitcher and a shutdown seventh-inning or eighth-inning bullpen man.

A call to Wood's agent Pat Rooney was not returned.

Wood, the Cubs' No. 1 pick in the 1995 June free-agent draft – and No. 4 overall selection, finished the 2010 season in the New York Yankees bullpen as the primary set-up man for Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees on Wednesday declined the option on Wood's 2011 contract, which would have been worth $11 million. That doesn't preclude the Yankees from re-signing Wood at a later date, and at a lower number.

Wood left the Cubs after the 2008 season when he signed a multi-year contract with Cleveland.

Various injuries have punctuated Wood's career ever since he came out of Texas as a high school phenom."