Report: Nats to promote top prospect James Wood on Monday
The Washington Nationals plan to promote outfielder James Wood, one of baseball's top prospects, to the majors Monday, sources told Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan.
Wood will likely make his MLB debut when the Nats host the New York Mets on Monday at Nationals Park. It's unclear if he'll continue suiting up for Triple-A Rochester over the weekend.
The 21-year-old is ranked as baseball's No. 3 prospect and top outfielder in the minor leagues by both MLB.com and Baseball America.
Wood made a case to make the Nats' Opening Day roster with a stellar spring training. Through 51 games with Rochester, he's hitting .346/.458/.578 with 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases while taking almost as many walks (39) as he has strikeouts (41). He's yet to commit an error in 99 defensive chances while primarily splitting time between left and center field.
The Nationals are hoping Wood can provide a boost in the outfield and add some spark to a young team that's showing signs of emerging from its rebuild early. Washington entered Friday just three games out of a playoff spot in the tight NL wild-card race while sitting only four games under .500.
James Wood has only played LF since coming off IL last week. Safest bet is he'll play LF for Nats, with Jesse Winker shifting to primary DH role (perhaps platooning with Harold Ramirez). Could also play some CF if Jacob Young gets a day off. Eddie Rosario likely the odd man out.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) June 28, 2024
The San Diego Padres selected Wood in the second round of the 2021 draft before dealing him and five others to Washington for Juan Soto the following summer. Wood is set to become the third prospect from that trade to reach the majors, joining Nationals teammates MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams.
Washington will need to make a corresponding roster move before adding Wood to the 40-man roster.