Nationals To Place James Wood On IL With Oblique Strain

Nationals manager Blake Butera informed reporters, including Mark Zuckerman of Nats Journal, that outfielder James Wood will be placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. Butera described the injury as “subtle” and “mild” while expressing hope it will be a minimal stint. Outfielder Andrew Pinckney will be selected to the roster to replace Wood. The 40-man has a vacancy after yesterday’s deadline dealings, so Pinckney can fill that without any further moves being necessary. Even if Butera is correct and Wood is slated for a brief absence, it’s a blow for the Nats. Wood is one of the best players in the majors. He has 30 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a huge 16.8% walk rate. His .265/.393/.535 line leads to a 151 wRC+. His defense isn’t great but he has nonetheless been worth 4.2 wins above replacement this year in the eyes of FanGraphs, a top ten mark among MLB position players. The Nats came into the season in rebuild mode but hovered around contention for most of it. That was mostly due to a top-heavy lineup with Wood, CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead doing all the damage. Despite a better-than-expected record, the Nats sold at the deadline, as expected. They sent out Mead and García to the Red Sox and Yankees, respectively. With Wood now heading the IL, the lineup should be far less intimidating for opponents in the near future. More to come. View Comments (7)