Nationals Star James Wood on Pace for One of Largest Pre-Arbitration Pool Payments

On July 1, 2024, the James Wood era officially started for the Washington Nationals.

That is when they called up the talented left fielder to make his MLB debut, and he has not looked back since.

Wood created a lot of optimism for the future with how well he played in the big leagues. After acclimating himself following a slow start, he ended the year with some impressive rookie numbers.

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In 79 games and 295 at-bats, he recorded a solid .264/.354/.427 slash line with nine home runs, 13 doubles and four triples, knocking in 41 runs with 14 stolen bases.

His combination of size, speed and athleticism is rare, measured at an imposing 6-foot-7 and 234 pounds.

Possessing incredible power potential, Wood has begun tapping into that in his second year as a pro, taking his performance to another level.

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Through 94 games and 351 at-bats this season, he has already cemented himself as one of the most feared left-handed hitters in baseball.

He has a .282/.386/.541 slash line, already launching 24 home runs and 19 doubles while knocking in 69 runs and stealing 12 bases.

It has led to him being named to the first of what should be many All-Star appearances. He's also being viewed as a legitimate NL MVP candidate, and if the Nationals found more success in the win column, his candidacy would be that much stronger.

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With a bWAR of 4.5, Wood has put himself in a position for an incredible payday at the end of the campaign.

As shared by the Associated Press via ESPN, the Washington star is on pace to earn $863,835 of the $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool money split amongst 100 players based on regular season production.

That is on pace to be the third-highest amount earned, behind only center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs and starting pitching phenom Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Wood has a chance to earn even more money based on some accolades that he could receive at the end of the year.

If he finishes top five in the NL MVP voting, he will earn at least $1 million more. It goes up depending on the spot finished in.

$1 million can be earned for landing on the All-MLB First Team and $500,000 can be earned for landing on the All-MLB Second Team.

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