WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals top prospect James Wood will make his major league debut Monday night against the New York Mets.
The Nationals selected the contract of the 21-year-old outfielder to call him up from Triple-A Rochester. Wood was acquired in the August 2022 trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego. Wood will play left field and bat sixth in his debut. He will wear No. 50.
“It’s unreal,” said Wood, a native of nearby Olney, Maryland. “Just being able to play for the team I grew up around and watching, it’s a blessing.”
Wood is the third-ranked prospect in the Major League Baseball pipeline. The 6-foot-7, 234-pound outfielder is hitting .353 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and an OPS of 1.058 in the minors.
“He’s done really well at Triple-A,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “I talked to him a little bit today about his routine, stick with his routine and really just be where your feet are and have fun.”
Wood estimated he’ll have “more than 50” friends and family members in attendance for his debut.
“It’s cool just being back home and having my family here and trying to soak it all in,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s still baseball, so just trying to look at it that way.”
Wood will join left-hander MacKenzie Gore (6-7, 3.60 ERA) and shortstop CJ Abrams in a lineup featuring three players who came to Washington in the Soto trade.
Washington is just four games out of the final NL wild-card spot despite ranking 11th in the league in batting average (.235), 14th in home runs (68) and 12th in runs scored (341).
“We felt like he could give us a little boost on offense,” Martinez said. “We’re struggling scoring some runs and think his bat will definitely help us. But we felt like he was ready. He checked all the boxes down there.”
In a corresponding roster move, the team designated outfielder Eddie Rosario for assignment.
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