PHILADELPHIA — The Nationals have placed All-Star James Wood on the 10-day injured list with a mild oblique strain. In a corresponding move, the club recalled Andrew Pinckney from Triple-A Rochester.

Wood left in the eighth inning of Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Phillies. He said he felt some discomfort after his final swing against Kyle Backhus in the seventh.

Wood hasn’t had an injured list stint since he debuted in the majors in 2024. He’s appeared in every game this season and has been a pillar in the lineup with MVP-level production.

The 23-year-old leads the Nationals in homers (30), walks (90), on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.928) and runs scored (100). His 4.0 bWAR ranks 14th in the majors. Replacing his presence in the lineup is impossible.

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The silver lining is that Washington believes they avoided a worst-case scenario. Oblique injuries are critical for a hitter because they can linger and hinder any movement that involves rotation. Throwing and running are fine for Wood, but generating the torque to swing is when the pain shows up.

“I was actually pretty happy,” manager Blake Butera said after learning the results of the MRI. “Anytime someone feels their side on a swing, I haven’t been around many where the results came back this good. There’s been some obliques that people have missed three-to-four months because of these things. And really tough, too, because you feel it with any type of rotation.”

The Nationals are on a six-game losing streak and are now without their best player. They already faced an uphill climb in the wild-card race — they have a 1.2% chance at clinching a playoff spot, according to FanGraphs.

“The fact I heard the doctor had to really look for it to find it is a good thing,” Butera said. “But with what we’ve heard from the doctor and the training staff, is hopefully in the next few days it subsides and he can start building back up.”

Wood woke up Tuesday more sore than Monday night.

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In his absence, Pinckney will make his MLB debut. The 25-year-old posted a .770 OPS with 13 homers at Rochester. He’s a power bat who struggles to make contact.

“He was playing great [at Triple-A],” Butera said. “The outfield defense is what stands out the most. He was hitting the ball really hard, stole a ton of bases this year. Just a dynamic player that can bring a lot of different things to us.”

Wood said he’ll remain with the team as he begins his recovery. Given how early he is in his career, he is still learning how to properly maintain his body to endure the 162-game season.

“I haven’t really had that opportunity many times in the big leagues, so I’ll be spectating a little bit, so we’ll see,” he said. “But as far as myself, just learning more ways to take care of my body. Obviously, you play a lot of games in the minor leagues, but 162 is a little bit different. I’m still fairly new to that part. So there’s still a lot I’ve got left to learn.”