Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter

Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter

Share this post

Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter
Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter
Could the Nationals Actually Extend Dylan Crews or James Wood?

Could the Nationals Actually Extend Dylan Crews or James Wood?

The Nationals will have to go above market value to lock up either of their young superstars. The question is: How much is too much?

Michael Natelli's avatar
Michael Natelli
Mar 07, 2025
∙ Paid
2

Share this post

Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter
Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter
Could the Nationals Actually Extend Dylan Crews or James Wood?
Share

Amidst a flurry of other news about the MASN resolution and stadium naming/jersey patch sales on Monday, The Nats Report reported that the Washington Nationals have started “preliminary talks” for long-term extensions with both James Wood and Dylan Crews.

The initial reaction to this, of course, is that gif of Jonah Hill getting really excited.

Jonah Hill Excited GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

Yeah. That one.

Anyway, this isn’t necessarily new ground for the Nationals. They’ve signed former franchise cornerstones like Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg to extensions, made big-dollar (albeit, not big enough) bids to retain others like Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, and more recently, even jumped on the early-career extension trend with Keibert Ruiz before the 2023 season.

But where the excitement comes from is the prospect, however slim, that the club could finally lock up a (potential) superstar to an early-career deal that keeps them in Washington well beyond the six-seven years of a rookie deal. We’ve seen names like Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Corbin Carroll, and nearly the entire Atlanta Braves roster sign these deals in the last few years, but Ruiz remains the lone National to be a part of that trend.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Stars and Strikes: A Washington Nationals Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Michael Natelli
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share