The Nationals, in the course of a protracted highway journey, are set to fulfill the Tampa Bay Rays in Florida afterward Friday.
A strong left-handed hitter, Wooden hit 51 house runs in his minor league profession, together with 26 a season in the past. Wooden, who grew up in Maryland, landed within the Nationals’ system in 2022 — one of many prospects the San Diego Padres despatched to Washington as a part of the commerce for famous person Juan Soto. Additionally a part of that deal: MacKenzie Gore, the left-handed pitcher in line to begin Monday.
Eddie Rosario, whom the Nationals signed to a minor league deal in March, looks as if the likeliest choice to be moved earlier than Wooden debuts Monday. The Nationals might attempt to discover a crew prepared to commerce for Rosario, the 2021 Nationwide League Championship Collection MVP who has a .556 OPS this season. However that might show tough, even with Rosario’s postseason expertise.
The Nationals have 4 different outfielders on the roster: Lane Thomas, Jacob Younger, Jesse Winker and Harold Ramirez, who signed a minor league cope with Washington earlier this month after being designated for task by the Rays. Winker was taking follow reps at first base with Joey Meneses forward of Friday’s sport, maybe signaling how the Nationals wish to incorporate each Winker and Wooden into the lineup.
Wooden, vibrant and soft-spoken, has lengthy carried with him the burden of super expectations. And his mom, Paula, has stated that he has “all the time been obsessive about baseball differently than anything in his life.” Earlier this yr, his Class AAA supervisor indicated that he could be prepared for an even bigger stage.
“Clearly that’s not my selection,” Crimson Wings Supervisor Matthew LeCroy stated on the time. “However he’s performed sufficient proper now that I’d really feel assured, in the event that they requested me [about calling him up], [to say], ‘Hey, man, may as properly.’ ”
Wooden is in the course of his fourth season within the minors. He began the 2023 season in excessive Class A Wilmington and jumped to Class AA Harrisburg after simply 42 video games. This yr, he participated in his first massive league spring coaching and impressed in West Palm Seaside, Fla., Washington’s spring coaching house.
Wooden didn’t make Washington’s Opening Day roster — the Nationals wished to present him extra time to develop. However as he cruised via Class AAA, the noise round him continued to develop. Wooden suffered a proper hamstring damage in mid-Could, which sidelined him for a number of weeks. He returned on June 18 and has performed in simply six video games.
When the Nationals traded Soto, they hoped to construct a younger core that may make them aggressive once more. Two items of that core — Gore and shortstop CJ Abrams — are already in Washington and having sturdy begins to the yr. Different gamers concerned within the Soto commerce embrace outfielder Robert Hassell III, who’s on the injured listing in Class AA Harrisburg, and right-hander Jarlin Susana, who has allowed two runs or much less in his final 5 begins for low Class A Fredericksburg.
Wooden is about to reach within the majors not lengthy after outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 total choose within the 2023 draft, joined the Crimson Wings. Crews, 22, was promoted to Class AAA Rochester this previous week.
He’ll be a part of a younger Nationals crew that has at instances shocked this season because the franchise’s reboot continues to take form. Abrams and infielder Luis García Jr. have been two of the crew’s higher hitters. The speedy Younger has impressed in middle area, and Washington’s pitching — together with Gore and two of his fellow starters, Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker — has shined. Proper-hander Josiah Grey, an all-star in 2023, has spent a lot of the season on the injured listing however might rejoin the crew within the close to future.
And now Wooden’s second looms, as Washington’s years-long rebuild takes one other massive step.
It is a creating story and will likely be up to date.
