Nationals' lone 'untouchable' player in trade talks is exactly who fans want to keep
This is exactly who Nationals fans will want to hold on to forever.
Nationals' lone 'untouchable' player in trade talks is exactly who fans want to keep originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . While the Washington Nationals aren't ready to contend for a postseason spot just yet, they do still need to begin preparing for the future of the franchise as a contender.
That means that, even at this year's trade deadline, the Nationals need to determine if there are any players whom they need to deem "untouchable" in trade talks. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter identified every team's "untouchable" trade chip, and for the Nationals, it was just one player: superstar slugger James Wood. "Left-handed MacKenzie Gore was traded during the offseason and shortstop CJ Abrams remains a popular hypothetical trade candidate, but Wood looks like the kind of player the Nationals plan to build around," Reuter writes.
Wood, being the lone Nationals "untouchable" player in trade talks this year, would be exactly the player fans would also choose to keep if they could only guarantee they hold onto one player. Nationals' James Wood is their most 'untouchable' trade chip While teams around Major League Baseball would surely love to find a way to acquire Wood, the Nationals would be completely foolish to part with a young and blossoming star like the 23-year-old left-handed hitting slugger. This season, Wood has 13 homers, including an inside-the-park Grand Slam against the New York Mets .
He's posted 1. 7 bWAR this season, and while he has a strikeout problem, he is walking a lot more this season than he did last year. MORE : Phillies ’ Aidan Miller finally beginning baseball activities amid back injury Wood already has 40 walks in 49 games, which is almost half of his 85 walks in 157 games a year ago.