James Wood hasn’t played in any game action since Aug. 3, and with the Nationals already buried in a lost season, the question hanging over Washington is simple: why bring him back at all?
Wood has been working through a mild oblique strain, and the club saw him in the outfield ahead of Thursday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. He’s now closing in on the four-week mark, which fits the cautious end of the recovery window for that kind of injury. At 63-73 as of Aug. 27, the Nationals have little reason to force the issue.
Washington sits 10.0 games out of the NL Wild Card race with 26 games left, making October baseball feel out of reach. In situations like this, the usual play is to let younger players get their run and use the final month to learn something about the roster.
The Nationals have started doing that already. Luis Perales got his MLB debut on Wednesday, though it came in a rough and highly questionable sequence after Blake Butera sent him back out for a third inning in relief.
Jackson Kent has also been given a look, even if the early results haven’t been pretty. That’s the sort of late-season trial run teams use when the standings no longer matter.
Which is why Wood’s situation stands out. If he’s not fully healthy, there’s no upside in pushing the franchise centerpiece back onto the field just to risk another setback. An oblique is no small thing for a hitter like Wood, especially a back-to-back 30+ home run bat that depends on core and hip torque to produce power.
Washington has gotten by with a patchwork outfield while Wood sits. Dylan Crews has settled into everyday work in right field, while Jared Young has handled center and even made a catch-of-the-year type play a few days ago.
Andrew Pinckney has also forced his way into the conversation. The 25-year-old reached the majors this summer and has appeared in 11 games, mostly in left field. He’s posted a +1.1 defensive rating and has been productive at the plate too, with an .829 OPS and 115 wRC+.
If Wood were shut down, Pinckney would make sense as a player to keep running out there. The problem is that more playing time for him could cut into Daylen Lile’s reps, and Lile has been scorching hot, batting over .400 over the past week.
There isn’t much else in the system ready to jump into the mix. The only other name that even comes up is Sam Peterson, the Nationals’ 29th-ranked prospect.
He’s at Triple-A Rochester with an MLB ETA of 2027, and the 23-year-old is hitting .236 with a .775 OPS. His calling cards are baserunning, with a 60 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale, and power, with 15 home runs and a 50 rating.
For now, though, Washington appears more likely to keep Wood rehabbing than to shut him down entirely. He is not a lock to be back in 2026, but he is still working toward a return.
On Aug. 16, Butera said, "It's been pretty slow recently.
Just hasn't subsided the way we'd like it to," and nearly two weeks later Wood was throwing 120 feet, though still behind schedule.
If he does come back, a DH role may be the safest path. But the bigger argument remains the same: there’s no real reason to gamble with Wood’s health again in a season that’s already gone sideways.
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