James Wood (oblique) reaches twice in rehab game

This was reported as a probability last night and is now official. Wood is hitting .265/.393/.535 with 100 runs scored, 30 homers, 73 RBI and 17 stolen bases across 535 plate appearances in 114 games and should be right back into the lineup for the Nationals and fantasy managers.

Wood reached base safely in two of his four plate appearances and logged seven innings in left field during his latest minor league rehab game for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday. He’s been working his way back from an oblique strain that sent him to the injured list back in early August. All signs point to the 23-year-old fantasy superstar making it back for Wednesday’s contest in Washington. He was hitting .265/.393/.535 with 100 runs scored, 30 homers, 73 RBI and 17 stolen bases across 535 plate appearances in 114 games prior to the injury.

It had been reported that Wood would have a day off on Monday and then could return to the Nationals on Tuesday. That will clearly not be the case; however, there is still a chance that Wood could return to the Nationals at some point this week.

It had been reported earlier that Wood would not require a rehab assignment, but, according to The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum, he wanted to see some live pitching before returning. He also played seven innings in left field on Sunday as well. Nationals manager Blake Butera said, “We’ll probably give him Monday off, then we’ll see from there,” so there is a strong chance that Wood will return to the Nationals lineup on Tuesday.

Manager Blake Butera indicated that Wood wouldn’t require a rehab assignment before rejoining the Nationals. If he’s still feeling good tomorrow after the BP session, it probably won’t be long before he’s activated.

Wood landed on the injured list on August 4th with what the team had called a mild oblique strain. However, his recovery progress has been slow, and it’s unclear if he has even begun swinging a bat. Seeing him run on the field is certainly nice, but until we see him hitting and beginning to hit high velocity, we shouldn’t expect an imminent return.

Butera didn’t term it as a setback necessarily, but he still isn’t ready to progress to more strenuous baseball activities. At this rate, it would be surprising to see him back it back before the end of August.

Wood is first eligible to be activated later this week, but that’s not going to happen, according to Butera. The rookie skipper added that Wood has progressed to taking dry swings in addition to some light throwing as he works his way back from a mild oblique strain that put him on the injured list last week. It sounds like the 23-year-old rising superstar is going to need some extra time before he’s ready, but it sounds like there’s a decent chance he’s back before the end of August.

Wood has been diagnosed with a mild oblique strain, which means his absence will likely be on the shorter end of the spectrum. However, he’s likely to remain on the shelf until at least mid-to-late August. The 23-year-old rising star suffered the injury on an awkward swing during the sixth inning of Monday’s game against the Phillies. It’s a colossal loss for the Nationals, and fantasy managers, as Wood has delivered top-five overall fantasy value this season, slashing .265/.393/.535 with 100 runs scored, 30 homers, 73 RBI and 17 stolen bases across 535 plate appearances in 114 games. There should be a definitive return timetable once Wood is cleared to resume baseball activities.

Gulp. Wood was lifted for a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of Monday’s series opener against the Phillies after going 1-for-4 at the plate. He suffered the injury on a sixth-inning swing. The obvious fear here is an oblique issue, which would likely result in a multi-week absence. The 23-year-old burgeoning star has delivered first-round fantasy value this season with a stellar 30-homer, 17-steal campaign. There should be a definitive update on his status heading into Tuesday’s contest. It certainly sounds like a trip to the injured list could be in play. Stay tuned.