Wood set to make spring debut as DH vs. Mets (plus pitching notes)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – It’s only the first five contests of Grapefruit League play, but no team wants a star player to have to sit out game action this early in spring training. Any time one does, panic ensues and is not quelled until said player returns to the field.

James Wood’s absence during the Nationals’ first week of spring training games struck fear into the hearts of fans. But the young outfielder and the team were not concerned his right quad tendinitis would hold him out for long.

He’s been able to take batting practice the entire time and returned to outfield work over the weekend. Now he’s ready to make his 2025 game debut.

Wood will be the Nats designated hitter and lead off to start this afternoon’s game against the Mets. Manager Davey Martinez moved him up to the top spot so he can get his at-bats quickly and be done for the day.

“He's gonna DH. We'll hopefully get him three at-bats,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “I led him off to see if we can get him at least three at-bats, but we'll see how he feels. I want him just to go get his at-bats.”

Wood told his manager that the quad doesn’t bother him when he swings and that it’s not really bothering him at all. He feels it sometimes when he does lateral movement, which is why he’s still slowly ramping up to play the outfield. But he’s full-go in the batter’s box and on the basepaths in his first spring game.

“When he hits, it doesn't bother him a bit. He said it's really not bothering him at all,” Martinez said. “There are certain movements, you know, going left to right, that he kind of feels just a little bit. So that's why we're keeping him out of the outfield.

“He's running fine. He ran pretty good yesterday, so he's running fine.”

This will be the first of several DHing opportunities for Wood in the coming days. The Nats want him to get his at-bats while he’s still working his way back into the field. They’ll also control his defensive work with appearances in the backfields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches before playing the field in a Grapefruit League game.

“He'll DH a couple more times. And then what I would like to do when he plays the outfield is maybe control a little bit,” Martinez said. “If he plays in the backfields, let him play the field for one inning, sit for one inning, send him back out there and see how that goes first. And then we'll go from there.”

The Nationals wouldn’t put him in game action if he wasn’t ready to run and do swinging activities. Martinez said he doesn’t like telling players to ease up while playing because that’s often when injuries occur. Playing not to get hurt is never actually the safest thing.

“I don't like telling a player to back off, because then typically something, you know, (bad happens),” Martinez said. “So I tell him, 'Hey, do what you can. Be smart about what you're doing.' So he understands that, hey, we're going to take baby steps. We got a long way to go. But we want to get him ready for the season with no issues.”

* Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Mitchell Parker are both scheduled to pitch two innings today against the Mets. The left-handers will have their work cut out for them with a lot of high-profile regulars in the Mets lineup, including Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo at the top of the order.

* Martinez clarified the Nats’ pitching plan for tomorrow’s split-squad doubleheader against the Cardinals and Marlins. Michael Soroka will make his Nationals debut as the starter of the afternoon game against the Cardinals in Jupiter, while MacKenize Gore will make his first spring start in the home nightcap against the Marlins.