Jacob Young is back playing center field for the Nationals, bumping Robert Hassell III to right field and Daylen Lile to the minors.

Young was officially activated off the 10-day injured list today, ready to return just shy of three weeks after spraining the AC joint in his left shoulder trying to make a leaping catch at the wall in Baltimore. The 25-year-old played three games on a rehab stint with Double-A Harrisburg, going 3-for-11 with a double, RBI, walk and stolen base while feeling confident about the state of his shoulder.

“We talked last night, sat down with the medical staff. He checked all the boxes,” manager Davey Martinez said. “They said he felt good. He got a bunch of at-bats fairly quick and said he felt fine. He’s ready to go, excited to be back.”

Young, who hadn’t played since the May 20 collision with the Camden Yards wall, said his body was admittedly out of game shape during Tuesday’s rehab debut. But he woke up Wednesday morning feeling good and had no issues the next two nights. He believes he’ll have no restrictions when he takes the field tonight against the Rangers.

“Full-go. Try to avoid the wall as best as I can out there,” he said with a laugh. “But everything else, full-go. Sliding, diving, all that stuff is good.”

A Gold Glove Award finalist last season, Young was focused more on improving his offensive game this year but struggled in that regard. Over 41 games prior to landing on the IL, he was batting .227 with a .309 on-base percentage and .282 slugging percentage, all down from 2024.

He was, however, encouraged by progress he was beginning to make after making some swing changes just before suffering the injury. In the two games he played against the Orioles, he went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. The challenge now will be picking up where he left off and sustaining offensive success for a longer period of time.

“I made some swing adjustments right before I got hurt. I brought them into that Baltimore series, and I felt pretty good before I got hurt,” he said. “So, just continue those. Obviously, continue to get the offense where I want it, back to where it was last year, and a little better than that. I’d like to continue doing that. And then getting back to defense, being the fielder I know I can be, and how I can help this team win games.”

The Nationals believe for now Young remains their best option in center field. Martinez said he’ll continue to start most games out there, which bumps Hassell to right field.

Hassell, who made his major league debut after Young got hurt, has batted .269, going 14-for-52 with a double, a homer and six RBIs in 13 games. The 23-year-old will give up some at-bats to the right-handed Alex Call (who has been limited somewhat by a lingering knee issue) but otherwise will become the Nats’ primary right fielder until Dylan Crews returns from his own IL stint with an oblique strain.

“Hassell is doing well,” Martinez said. “He’s been playing, and I want to continue playing him every day if I can.”

That made Lile the odd man out for now. The 22-year-old was called up one day after Hassell when Crews landed on the IL and showed off the potential that has long excited club officials about the 2021 second-round pick. But his overall numbers (.194/.257/.355) in 11 games – and the fact he had only played 18 games at Triple-A prior to his promotion – prompted the team to option him back to Rochester to continue to develop.

Martinez spoke highly of Lile and made it clear he’ll be back in the big leagues before long.

“He got a little taste of what it’s like to be here. The next time he comes up, it could be for a very long stint,” the manager said. “But he understands what he needs to do. … The big thing now is to go down there, take what he learned here, apply it every day and get after it. So that when he comes back, he’s ready to go.”