Bringing the Wood to the OF - James Wood

[IanRubbish]

I wonder how much the health of the Padres owner had to do with the free agent spending Preller was allowed to do. The owner was only 63 when he died but he had type 1 diabetes and survived two bouts with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. It's easier to give the green light to spend when you're Ted Lerner and 90 or Peter Seidler who had serious health problems and can't afford to be patient.

I thought their preseason '23 splurge had a lot to do with that, especially with paying Darvish til he's 42, extending Machado before he could opt out, the absurd Bogaerts contract, and overpaying Jake Cronenworth.  But there was also a desire to capitalize on the Chargers leaving that began with the Tatis contract.  From a marketing standpoint, it couldn't have gone better, two straight seasons of 40k+ avg attendance. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I think that's why he spent a couple years throwing money at every top-tier shortstop-ish player who hit free agency.

I  kind of wonder what they would have done with Merrill had they kept Wood. Would Merrill have stayed at SS and Wood in center?

[Elvir Ovcina]

I  kind of wonder what they would have done with Merrill had they kept Wood. Would Merrill have stayed at SS and Wood in center?

I don't know and would rather not, as it would involve being inside Preller's head.

[Slateman]

I  kind of wonder what they would have done with Merrill had they kept Wood. Would Merrill have stayed at SS and Wood in center?

He probably starts the seadon in the minors, playing SS.

I'm wondering if they move him back there when Kim is gone

[Smithian]

.264/.354/.427 final slash line with 9 homers and 14 steals in 336 PAs

He's not Juan Soto or Bryce Harper. I do think he is someone who will develop into a hitter you bat #2, 3, or 4 and be a playoff contender.

Very good pickup for a guy I never heard of and thought was a throw-in behind Gore, Hassell, and Abrams when the trade happened

[blue911]

.264/.354/.427 final slash line with 9 homers and 14 steals in 336 PAs

He's not Juan Soto or Bryce Harper. I do think he is someone who will develop into a hitter you bat #2, 3, or 4 and be a playoff contender.

Very good pickup for a guy I never heard of and thought was a throw-in behind Gore, Hassell, and Abrams when the trade happened

He’s Darryl Strawberry without the baggage.

[Senatorswin]

We'll see what he is the next couple of years. The way he hit so many hard if he starts getting a better launch angle he could be something really special.

[Smithian]

I think the Nats should look at at paying James Wood right now.

Our payroll will not be this low again for a long time. Let's buy out his rookie minimum years and keep back end AAV from being crazy. It's a little risky paying him this early, but paying him now will keep him from being super expensive on the backend when hopefully the Nats are trying to figure out how to pay guys like Gore, Crews, House.

I know he's not dumb and won't do the Nats a hometown deal just because they want to pay him early, but buying out an extra pre-arbitration year when he would otherwise be making under $1 million has to be tempting, even for Boras. He had a good rookie year, but this isn't like Juan Soto in 2018 or 2019 when a long-term $20 mil AAV deal would seem like a bargain for the home team. This is doable.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Wood has the potential to be an iconic figure in DC sports history. Being a local kid in a sport that draws people (vs. Katy Ledecky or Noah Lyles, for example), star potential, Black athletic role model for kids to relate to . . . He could be Kevin Durant playing for the Wiz his entire career. I hope he never leaves and fulfills his promise. I'd make the Bobby Witt offer but think you could get him for less given it's earlier in his career and more uncertainty over his outcomes.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I don't think he's arb eligible until after the 2027 season because he came up late enough to not qualify for Super 2. He's also not getting RoTY or runner up so he will not get a full year's credit for 2024.

[varoadking]

Wood has the potential to be an iconic figure in DC sports history. Being a local kid in a sport that draws people (vs. Katy Ledecky or Noah Lyles, for example), star potential, Black athletic role model for kids to relate to . . . He could be Kevin Durant playing for the Wiz his entire career. I hope he never leaves and fulfills his promise. I'd make the Bobby Witt offer but think you could get him for less given it's earlier in his career and more uncertainty over his outcomes.

So you're all-in on him then?   

[IanRubbish]

I think the Nats should look at at paying James Wood right now.

I think Wood is going to an elite hitter, top 5 OBP next year, and perennially near the top of the OPS leaderboard.   His ABs this year alone were a pleasant break from the swing-at-everything bug that afflicts much of the lineup.  That said, he's Boras so he's not signing anything right now.  Boras will be 78 when Wood's eligible for FA, so we'll see what happens over the next few years, but if I had to bet, he's a Phillie/Yankee/Dodger come 2031.

[imref]

Just put a “no gambling” clause in his contract

[Slateman]

Wood has the potential to be an iconic figure in DC sports history. Being a local kid in a sport that draws people (vs. Katy Ledecky or Noah Lyles, for example), star potential, Black athletic role model for kids to relate to . . . He could be Kevin Durant playing for the Wiz his entire career. I hope he never leaves and fulfills his promise. I'd make the Bobby Witt offer but think you could get him for less given it's earlier in his career and more uncertainty over his outcomes.

Meh, if Witt is worth that, then Wood is worth quite a bit less.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Sure. Witt signed after a couple of years in the majors. Much more of a track record, and a more important position. The Witt analogy is more to the length and maybe the timing of cutting a deal. I don't think the pre-call up deals some guys cut is the right analogy, either. Wood I think has a high floor now after this season

[imref]

Your Nats 2025 breakout player (per mlb.com):

Nationals: OF James Wood
Wood pummeled nine home runs in his first 79 big league games last year. He also ranked fourth in the NL in batted balls with an exit velocity of 105 mph or higher from July 1, when he was called up, through the end of the season. So what can he do in his first full season? The production for the 6-foot-7 outfielder could be very exciting. ZiPS projections predict that Wood will lead the Nationals in offense with a .265/.351/.456 slash line, 137 hits, 20 home runs, 76 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a 127 OPS+. -- Jessica Camerato

[imref]

mlb.com projects Wood as our top player in 2025:

Nationals: James Wood (3.1 WAR)
MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect at the time of his big league debut last July, Wood largely lived up to the hype as a rookie, flashing an exciting blend of power and speed and improving as the year went on. The 22-year-old could cement himself as one of Washington’s cornerstones in 2025.

[Natsinpwc]

3.1 WAR as team lead is pretty darn sad.

[Smithian]

3.1 WAR as team lead is pretty darn sad.

A marginal increase in offense from Jacob Young could get him to 3.1 or above!

And defensive metrics at 1B are screwy. If they take a shine to Lowe this offseason, he could smoke that 3.1 number.

We'll be a bad, bad team if Wood leads at 3.1

[varoadking]

mlb.com projects Wood as our top player in 2025:

Yup...71 wins is pretty optimistic...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

An article about Gerardo Caceres, the Gaithersburg-based hitting instructor Wood, Lipscomb, Bell (since his signing), and Nunez work with in the offseason. Wood has been working with him since high school (moreso since COVID), while Nunez started this off-season.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/02/19/james-wood-coach-g-nationals-offseason-training/

Caceres — known as “G” or “Coach G” — has the same broad responsibilities as almost all offseason baseball trainers. He has no affiliation with an MLB club, including the Nationals. He is an outside voice during the winter months. He heeds what players relay from their organizations, listens to their priorities, then infuses his own thoughts and adapts.
...
A 22-year-old outfielder who stands at 6-foot-7, Wood appreciated how open the trainer was to tinkering with his swing, even with his unusual body type. If a player didn’t like a drill, Caceres would come up with a new one based on bits and pieces of coaching techniques he saw elsewhere, the secret sauce being his own knowledge of the game.

“Whether it’s routine, mechanics, adjustments, it all goes back to what I worked on in the offseason,” Wood said last season.

Nunez worked bat path, trying for a more level swing, especially from the left side. But he also worked on drills to have his bottom hand guide the bat path more and his top hand drive his swing as a lefty.

He asked Caceres if there was a fix. All offseason, they’ve worked together and found one. He’s stolen bits and pieces of information from Wood and Lipscomb for guidance. He’s worked a lot off of the high Tee, helping him control his hips and keep his head still. His swing is flatter, now, staying through the zone. And he’s seeing a lot more backspin off the bat — exactly what he was looking for.

[imref]

What a freaking performance tonight.

[Smithian]

He saw all the extensions league wide and figured he may as well go on a hot streak!

[imref]

Will be interesting to see if Wood is at DH again today.

[NatsLSU]

Wood is an absolute monster. Please please get us new ownership that can hold onto our young talent for at least a decade.