WASHINGTON -- After being in the unfamiliar role of spectator for the previous 27 games, James Wood returned to the Nationals’ lineup on Wednesday afternoon.
The slugger recovered from a left oblique strain, which he sustained while swinging in an at-bat against the Phillies on Aug. 3.
“It feels like it's been a minute, so it’s good to be back here in the lineup,” Wood said.
Wood was slotted back into the leadoff spot and started in right field in the Nats’ 9-0 loss to the Braves at Nationals Park. He went 1-for-4, as his single into right field broke up Atlanta’s no-hit bid with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“It felt good just getting on the board, just getting back into the swing of things,” Wood said.
Manager Blake Butera described Wood’s return as “good vibes, good feelings knowing that Woody was back.” Butera kept Wood in the game for eight innings, until he subbed in Jacob Young due to the lopsided score.
“I thought he looked good,” Butera said. “He had the one single. Outside of that, I thought his swings looked good, I thought he was moving around well.”
Wood had played in every game this season prior to the injury. He has been durable since he debuted on July 1, 2024. Last year, he appeared in 157 games.
“[I learned] just how much it means to be able to be out there,” Wood said. “It was just a little bit of extra motivation to be diligent about the rehab and all that to try and be out there again.”
Once Wood was pain-free, he asked Butera to face live pitching before returning. Wood appeared in two rehab games with Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday and Monday, and he went 2-for-6 with a home run.
“I think you can do everything you want in the cage off the machine, but you can't really replicate game reps,” Wood said. “So I think that was an important thing, I feel like I had to get over to feel ready.”
The Nationals have greatly missed Wood in their lineup. At the time of his injury, he led the Majors in runs scored, ranked third in on-base percentage and OPS, fourth in homers and eighth in slugging percentage.
“When you have him in the leadoff spot, the pitcher's in the stretch a lot more; that’s a big one,” Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said on Tuesday. “When the lineup turns back over and you have one of the top three or four hitters in the Major Leagues coming up with runners on base, it’s obviously a really nice thing to have.
“But why Woody's so special is he can still have a huge, positive influence on the group even when he's not in the lineup. The conversations that he has with players, even though he's only 23 years old, I think he makes players better around him, which is one of many reasons why we're so lucky to have him.”