James Wood is a one of a kind, unique player that the Nationals have never seen in their franchise history, and they need to keep him a National for life.
Does this sentiment sound familiar? It should if you have been a Nationals fan for around the past decade, since so many people have said it about so many of the former franchise superstars that graced this organization.
Juan Soto is a one of a kind, unique player that the Nationals have never seen in their franchise history, and they need to keep him a National for life.
Trea Turner is a one of a kind, unique player that the Nationals have never seen in their franchise history, and they need to keep him a National for life.
Bryce Harper is a one of a kind, unique player that the Nationals have never seen in their franchise history, and they need to keep him a National for life.
What is the common thread between the three players I just mentioned?
They all left D.C.
You see, the Lerner family, owners of the Nationals, have done an incredibly lazy job shilling out money to keep the Nats competitive ever since their World Series title in 2019. Instead of bringing big names and flashy stars to Washington, they have signed bottom of the barrel veterans whose career is on the ropes for a minimum contract. In turn, only one or two of these players have historically panned out as good investments in the past five years, with the only real example being Kyle Schwarber in 2021.
Schwarber signed with the Nats on a one year contract for $10 million, ended up hitting 25 home runs in just 72 games, then got traded to the Boston Red Sox at the July trade deadline. From there, Schwarber’s dwindling career took a complete turnaround, signing with the Philadelphia Phillies the offseason prior for four years, $72 million.
Well, how does this circle back to the stars the Nats have lost over the past decade?
The Nats have had the opportunity to retain the previously mentioned OF/1B Bryce Harper, SS Trea Turner, and most recently, OF Juan Soto. However, they aren’t on the team now, so what happened?
The Lerners, again, weren’t willing to shell out money to keep their homegrown talent.
First, Harper. The number one overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, played seven seasons with the Nationals before going to Philadelphia for 13 years, with a $330 million contract. What did the Nats offer? Ten years, $300 million, with a third of that in deferred payments until the contract was over.
Next, Trea Turner. Before his eventual trade to the LA Dodgers at the 2021 trade deadline, the Nationals had offered multiple extensions, with the largest being six years and $100 million. After leaving LA, Turner joined the Phillies on a 11 year contract worth $300 million, three times the amount the Nats had offered him two summers earlier.
Finally, Juan Soto. This time, the Lerners were committed to keeping him in D.C. However, they were not set on keeping a competitive roster behind him, something Soto valued heavily. Therefore, Soto declined a 15 year, $440 million extension without any money deferred. After Soto declined, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo went public with the player’s contract details, a thing Soto was uncomfortable with. This burned a bridge between the franchise and Soto, and he was traded just two months later. A year and a half later, Soto signed with the New York Mets for a ludicrous amount of money: 15 years and $765 million in the 2024-25 offseason secured the 26 year old to be a Met for life.
So, where does this put James Wood? He passes the eye test, his stats are astounding for someone who has played less than a year of major league baseball, and he has the potential to be one of the top players in the sport. It is highly probable that Wood will ask for a payday when the time comes to negotiate his contract. However, the Lerners need to have learned from their past mistakes and keep this rising star, or this loyal Nationals fanbase will feel betrayed by ownership once again.
