James Wood has not seen a baseball diamond in any playing form since August 3. He has been dealing with a mild oblique strain since that date, and with the Nationals' season lost, there has been no rush to bring him back. However, the team saw him in the outfield ahead of Thursday's game against the Colorado Rockies.
The general recovery time for a mild oblique strain depends on the severity of the strain itself. The longer end of the timeline is about a 3-week longer-end projection. As of now, Wood is approaching the 4-week mark — another sign of caution from another organization. That is not a bad thing in what is (again) a lost season. The team is 63-73 as of August 27.
Now that the facts have been gathered, we can enter discussion...
Should James Wood Return At All?
The Nationals are 10.0 games out of the NL Wild Card race with 26 games to go. The odds are near zero to play any October baseball. For teams in such situations, the right thing to do is call up your younger players and let them play ball.
The Nationals have begun to do this. They called up Luis Perales for his MLB debut, which went down in an extremely questionable fashion on Wednesday. The fans are certainly unhappy with Blake Butera as the Nationals' manager sent Perales back to the mound for a third inning out of the bullpen. That decision ended in disaster, as further explained by my colleague, Bennett Lehmann — click here to read more.
The other true test the team has faced since the August 3 trade deadline has been their call-up of Jackson Kent. He has also struggled early on, but at least experience is getting itself done in low-leverage situations. This is all a part of the late-season testing of an organization's youth.
What I wonder is — should Wood be kept on the bench for this same reason? Why risk the face of your franchise with hardly anything to gain? Unless Wood is truly 100% healthy, I cannot bear to see him reaggravate that oblique and then allow it to linger all winter.
The oblique is a vital part of the body for a power-hitter in the MLB, or any hitter, for that matter. The sudden shift of a player's hips and core develops power. A back-to-back 30+ home run hitter like Wood, full health is required, not desired.
In Wood's absence, there has been a mixed bag of replacements in the Nationals' outfield. Mainly, Dylan Crews has taken a full-time job in right field. It has allowed Jared Young to play an everyday role in center field, which has been quite good from a pure skill standpoint, making a catch of the year a few days removed.
JACOB YOUNG CLIMBS THE TALLEST WALL POSSIBLE pic.twitter.com/98AHpzTYV6
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 23, 2026
The young player who has gained some shine is Andrew Pinckney. The 25-year-old finally made his way to the major leagues this summer. He has played 11 games so far, most of which have been in left field. Pinckney's defensive rating stands at +1.1, accompanied by respectable offensive numbers with an .829 OPS and 115 wRC+.
If Wood did call it quits on the season, the Nationals might be wise to give Pinckney even more playing time given his early promise. However, it will also be a tough call. Such a move might demote playing time for Daylen Lile, who is red hot in batting over .400 across the past week of play.
There is really no other young option to call up to this outfield. If anyone could be mildly considered, perhaps the 29th-ranked prospect, Sam Peterson. He plays for Triple-A Rochester with an MLB ETA of 2027. The 23-year-old is batting .236 with a .775 OPS. Peterson's strengths are strong baserunning with a 60 rating on the 20-80 scouting scale, and his power with a 50 rating on 15 home runs this season.
The reality is that while the Nationals may be smart to send Wood on an early vacation, they probably will not do so. Wood is not a lock for a 2026 return, but he is actively rehabbing as if he will play again.
On August 16, Nationals Blake Butera stated that, "It's been pretty slow recently. Just hasn't subsided the way we'd like it to," regarding Wood's injury. Nearly two weeks later, Wood is throwing 120 feet but is still behind schedule.
Time will tell if Wood gets back in the field. The team may be wise to place him at DH if a return does happen. I still stand on the business that there is absolutely zero reason to risk Wood playing again in 2026. What do you think? Let us know on X — @DistrictOnDeck.
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