Nationals Must Lock Up Wood for Future

0:00It's April 28th, welcome to MLB News Today, powered by AI, I'm Corey with the story. Washington Nationals are in rebuild mode since their World Series win back in 2019, and their top building block is 23-year-old slugger James Wood. Former General Manager Jim Bowden is pushing hard for them to lock him up with a long-term extension right now. Bowden points out how the team dropped the ball before by not signing homegrown stars like Bryce Harper, Tria Turner, and Juan Soto to big deals win. They had the chance. He says they got to flip the script this time and make Wood their priority as they climb back to contender status. Fans are excited about Wood's power potential, but nervous too, given the franchise's track record of letting talent slip away. He's the kind of player they could cheer for over the next decade if things go right. Wood bounced back strong after a rough second half last year, earning all-star nods in 2025 and smashing 30 home runs in his.

1:00First full big league season. A deal for him might look like the eight-year, $130 million packed Roman Anthony got from the Red Sox pricey, but worth it for a proven bat. Now it falls to President of baseball operations Paul Taboni and owner Mark Lerner to step up, learn those past lessons, and keep Wood as the face of. That's baseball for years to come.