James Wood lands on IL with oblique strain

James Wood has been the one bright spot in an otherwise brutal Nationals season, and now that bright spot is on the shelf. Washington placed the 23-year-old outfielder on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, a gut punch for a lineup that's leaned on him all year.

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Most Runs Scored So Far This Year: 100 James Wood 🤯 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80 79 78 Matt Olson 77 Yordan Álvarez 76 Bryan Reynolds 75 Pete Crow-Armstrong, Trea Turner 74 Miguel Vargas 73 Zach Neto 72 Randy Arozarena

That graphic sums up exactly why this hurts. Wood entered the injury with 100 runs scored, tops in all of baseball, well clear of names like Matt Olson and Yordan Alvarez further down the list. He's making his case as one of the best young hitters in the sport, and now he's watching from the training room instead of adding to that total.

According to reporting on the injury, Wood felt discomfort on the final swing of his at-bat in the 7th inning during Monday night's game against the Phillies, grounding out before exiting. An MRI the next day confirmed a mild strain, and Nationals manager Blake Butera called it "subtle" while expressing hope it's a short-term absence. Wood himself said running and throwing felt fine, but swinging did not.

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Nationals To Place James Wood On IL With Oblique Strain t.co/mYYBR3oz4F

Before the injury, Wood had played in all 114 of Washington's games this season, hitting.265 with 30 home runs and 73 RBIs to go with that MLB-leading run total. He made his second career All-Star team last month, cementing himself as the centerpiece of whatever the Nationals are trying to build. Losing him for any stretch is a real blow to a rebuild that's counting on him as a foundational piece.

The Nationals called up outfielder Andrew Pinckney from Triple-A Rochester to fill the roster spot, but nobody's pretending that's a real replacement for what Wood brings. This is the first IL trip of Wood's big-league career, and with Butera sounding optimistic about a quick turnaround, the hope in D.C. is that 10 days is close to the actual number and not just the minimum.