Phillies sign 1st-round draft pick pitcher Gage Wood out of Arkansas

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — It’s been an eye-opening experience for Gage Wood, the Philadelphia Phillies’ first-round draft pick.

The right-handed pitcher from the University of Arkansas officially signed a minor league contract with a $3 million signing bonus and will report this week to the Phillies’ training complex in Clearwater, Florida.

The 26th overall pick has already had a taste of what his Philly future could be.

“It’s awesome. I got to come up here to Philly for the first time, I worked my whole life for this,” the 21-year-old Wood said. “It’s a blessing and I can’t wait to get going.”

Wood had spent a few days in the city, seeing an explosive fan reaction when Kyle Schwarber hit a grand slam that proved to be a winning blow over the Angels on Saturday night, and having his family with him in Citizens Bank Park to see the Phillies beat the Red Sox on Monday night on a catcher’s interference call.

“The stadium’s awesome, the fans are awesome and the environment is incredible,” Wood said. “It was really surreal.”

When he hasn’t been at the ballpark, Wood added, “I’ve been working out at the hotel, and we’ve been playing catch in the strip of grass right across the road.”

It doesn’t get any more thrilling than that.

When it comes to his status, however, Wood isn’t one for hyperbole. The kid who threw a 19-strikeout no-hitter in the College World Series was asked if he thought that set him apart from other first-round draftees.

College and the professional level are two different stages, so I don’t want to get ahead of anything,” Wood said.

For now, his focus is on Florida, where he should find out when and where his professional career will begin.

“I’m going to work as hard as I can to perform the best that I can,” Wood said. “But I’ll let the people in the front office make that decision.”

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FILE - Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood throws to a Texas A&M batter during an NCAA college baseball game, May 17, 2024, in College Station, Texas. (Meredith Seaver/College Station Eagle via AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)