Nationals Skipper Explains Why James Wood Is Getting Reps in Right Field

Spring training is a time for tinkering and trying out new things. And that has certainly been the case for the Washington Nationals early on.

Not only have over 50 players gotten an at-bat this spring, but the pitching philosophy where the organization will focus on throwing fastballs less often has been on full display. However, one thing has stood out on a player level is James Wood and his defensive alignment, as he has been slotted into right field more often than left thus far.

Manager Blake Butera explained why the Nationals are giving Wood more work across the outfield after the big slugger worked on improving his defense throughout the winter.

Nationals Don't Want to Pigeonhole James Wood

James Wood of the Washington Nationals | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"Not sure why he just needs to be in left field," the skipper said, per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. "He's a pretty good athlete. He's young. He has a good arm. I want to give him an opportunity to be able to play both, if it comes to that -- not necessarily pigeonhole him in one spot."

To this point, Wood has certainly be pigeonholed. Through one-and-a-half big league seasons, all 202 of his defensive appearances have come in left field. However, that was not the case coming up the minors, as he actually appeared in more games in center (176) and right (52) than left (26).

The 23-year-old had a clear goal of becoming a better defender this offseason. He worked with new bench coach Michael Johns down at IMG Academy during the winter to make it happen, but only time will tell if that is going to become a reality or not. For his career, Wood has been worth minus-six in defensive runs saved and minus-12 in outs above average.

Nationals Plan on Using James Wood in Both Corner Spots

Camerato stated Butera would like to use Wood in both corner outfield spots during this upcoming season, but the new manager is still not sure exactly where the slugger is going to play the majority of his time when on defense.

"Not sure what that spot is going to be yet, but that's something we're going to figure out over this next couple of weeks," Butera said.

Coming into spring training, it was known Washington would be pretty flexible when it came to where their outfielders were situated in the grass. Dylan Crews and Jacob Young can both play center, while Crews, Wood, Daylen Lile and Robert Hassell III have all been used in the corners.

With the plan being to move Wood around more often this year, that creates more flexibility about what the Nationals can do with their lineup. And hopefully, that helps improve their team defense.