In 1971, there was disagreement among the White Sox management about what to do with Wood. New manager Chuck Tanner wanted to make him a starter, but GM Hemond (the same person who had been unimpressed with Wood when he tried out for the Braves in 1960) wanted to trade him to the California Angels as the White Sox built a roster around younger players; the Angels, however, were not interested in a trade. Wood also recalled that the team wanted to trade him to the Senators for Darold Knowles but was unable to because he was holding out for more money. Entering the 1971 season, Wood was poised to be a reliever again, but he was added to the rotation on the final day of spring training after Joe Horlen broke his leg. At the time, Phil and Joe Niekro were the only other starting pitchers that relied on a knuckleball.