Nationals add OF James Wood to IL with oblique strain

The Washington Nationals are placing outfielder James Wood on the 10-day injured list with a minor oblique strain, per manager Blake Butera.

Wood played against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night and went 1-4 at the plate. He reportedly hurt his left side in the game and was replaced by Dylan Crews as a defensive substitution in the bottom of the eighth.

The 6-foot-6 outfielder was considered day-to-day, but MRI results on Tuesday showed that he had a mild oblique strain. Butera added that the hope is that Wood will be out the minimum required time on the 10-day IL and will be able to return once eligible.

In a corresponding move, Washington recalled outfielder Andrew Pinckney. He has spent this season with the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate. Pinckney has played in 94 games and is hitting .271 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI.

Wood is one of the most exciting young players in MLB. He is now a two-time All-Star and has played in 114 games for Washington this season. Wood is slashing .265/.393/.535 and has hit 30 home runs with 73 RBI. He has scored 100 runs, which is already a career-high for him.

The outfielder initially came to Washington in the 2022 megadeal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres. The 23-year-old has one more season of pre-arbitration before three years of arbitration, tying him to the Nationals for the foreseeable future.

Heading into Tuesday's game against the Phillies, the Nationals have a 55-59 record. Washington is 13 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead, and 5 1/2 games back of the final NL wild-card spot with about two months left in the regular season.