Nationals' James Wood: Dealt with nagging injuries in 2025

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Wood admitted this week that he dealt with knee and quadriceps soreness last season, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports. "It was just kind of more of a nagging thing," Wood said. "One series I'd feel great, and the next, not so great. So it was just kind of a series-by-series, or week-by-week thing."

While he didn't pin his second-half struggles on the lower-body issues, Wood's performance strongly suggests they had an impact, as he had a .278/.381/.534 slash line in the first half but a .223/.301/.388 line in the second, with his strikeout rate spiking from 27.6 percent to 39.0 percent. That slump has followed him into 2026, and through six games he's batting .111 (3-for-27) with a 3:12 BB:K, although all three hits have gone for extra bases (two doubles and a homer). The 23-year-old insists his legs are healthy, however, and that he just needs to make a couple adjustments at the plate to break out. "This year compared to last year, I feel like I'm in a much better spot," Wood said. If his struggles linger, there could be a buy-low opportunity on the young slugger, who has already demonstrated his impressive upside when he's locked in.