{"id":750374,"date":"2026-07-08T11:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/750374\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T11:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:23:16","slug":"how-the-nationals-might-approach-the-trade-deadline-mailbag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/750374\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Nationals might approach the trade deadline: Mailbag"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 One week has passed since The Athletic\u00a0released its trade deadline tiers, in which we placed the Washington Nationals in the \u201chinge\u201d category<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Almost nothing I have heard or seen over the last week has changed my feelings on the matter. The team is still hovering just above .500, without a big break in one direction or the other. The list of possible targets at the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline feels endless. I\u2019d say that optionality is a good thing for the organization. For you all, I\u2019ve gathered, it means there are a lot of questions about the deadline. I did my best to answer them.<\/p>\n

(Note: Questions have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.)<\/p>\n

Why this July will be an exciting month for MLB<\/p>\n

Ken Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n

Who are some intriguing bullpen options the Nationals could go after? \u2014 Joshua S.<\/p>\n

Jim Bowden<\/a> presented a handful of names this week, most of whom are low-cost options with a lot of control and not much experience: Colorado Rockies righty Seth Halvorsen, San Francisco Giants righty Keaton Winn and Los Angeles Angels righties Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman.<\/p>\n

Bowden also floated Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela, who has two years of control, though the $14 million club option for 2027 makes one wonder whether the Nationals would view him as more of a one-year rental. Kyle Finnegan (two years, $17.65 million) intrigues me, too.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Bachman is my favorite from the list: Lots of whiff, lots of control, lots of stuff, some late-inning experience. Generally speaking, I like the idea of their targeting names from that first group, since it would keep the contention window open for a while, and relievers are volatile. It would also be wise to engage with teams that would agree to a strength-for-strength trade. For example, if a team with plentiful pitching depth, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners or New York Yankees, were open to trading a Triple-A arm and wanted someone in return whom Washington is more bearish on, I could see the two sides engaging. The limited number of true sellers complicates things.<\/p>\n

That said, I have to imagine a lot of you would prefer the team to acquire a shutdown or shutdown-ish arm with experience this season and then figure out the rest later. I don\u2019t entirely agree, but the frustration is fair \u2014 the Nationals have the worst ERA from the eighth inning on this year. Maybe Detroit Tigers righty Drew Anderson or Kansas City Royals lefty Matt Strahm fits that mold.<\/p>\n

Is the bullpen fixable at the trade deadline? What would it take to get multiple bullpen pieces like the (Sean) Doolittle and (Ryan) Madson trade of several years ago? \u2014 Ray M.<\/p>\n

Not in one month. Can they get someone who will shore up the ninth at a reasonable cost? I wouldn\u2019t put the odds over 50 percent, but I would not rule it out \u2014 and I wouldn\u2019t have even entertained it two months ago. Going after multiple proven bullpen players is much harder, and perhaps unwise, given they don\u2019t want to dip too much into the farm system.<\/p>\n

Foster Griffin: trade or extend? \u2014 Jeremiah O.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re asking me which is more likely, it\u2019s trade. The following is generally true for players across MLB: Griffin has lots of incentive to test the open market and see how much he would make with 30 teams after his services. An extension limits negotiations to one team. He would be getting some cost certainty with an extension, though.<\/p>\n

\"Washington<\/p>\n

\n CJ Abrams has been the best offensive shortstop in baseball this season. (Greg Fiume \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

If the Nationals trade (CJ) Abrams, what kind of package are we looking at? Something similar to (MacKenzie) Gore? What teams would be in play, and what kind of prospects do you see (Paul) Toboni targeting? \u2014 alexandermbauer<\/p>\n

It would have to be a better package than what they got for MacKenzie Gore, which was pretty strong to begin with. Position players are generally more valuable than pitchers (lower injury risk, and they play every day), CJ Abrams has more control than Gore did (2 1\/2 years, compared with two when Gore was traded), and Abrams is now a two-time All-Star who has been the best offensive shortstop in MLB this year (though the defensive metrics are still not where he\u2019d want them to be).<\/p>\n

Though pitching is a priority for the Nats, most teams that acquire prospects don\u2019t limit the scope of those trades to one position. Generally, you aim to get as much value as you can, in whatever form you can, and figure it out from there. It\u2019s hard to comp this deal, because players of Abrams\u2019 stature are rarely traded, and the Nats are in no rush to move him. They have already rebuffed the Giants, who offered a top-100 prospect in January<\/a>. They would have some leverage to ask for a valuable pitching prospect and a player close to the majors, though, if they wanted. Several American League contenders need help at shortstop.<\/p>\n

It feels like the Nats have a nice little surplus of outfielders at all levels of the minors. Any thoughts on potentially packaging them for a starter with a couple years of control? Any idea which guys it would be, if so? Could throw (Brady) House in there too \u2026 \u2014 jghorton<\/p>\n

From what I\u2019ve been told, Christian Franklin has the most value of the Triple-A group, and Sam Petersen (.859 OPS in Double A) is trending in the right direction offensively. I\u2019d push back on the idea they have boatloads of outfield depth at all levels, as the organization\u2019s shortstop depth is stronger, but there\u2019s no reason to believe they couldn\u2019t move one of those guys. Brady House is an interesting one. If I were another team, I would get the Nats on the phone. And if I were the Nats, I\u2019d be listening closely.<\/p>\n

How self-aware do you think the clubhouse is about the trade deadline? \u2014 Bobby O.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s aware. The general sentiment, from my understanding, is the players want the team to buy, but they know it\u2019s on them to make it as hard as possible for the front office to decide to sell. It\u2019s less about whether they accept it in the moment and more about whether it has an impact on their effort down the stretch. To that, I\u2019d say: It almost certainly would to some degree. That\u2019s human nature.<\/p>\n

Do you think Toboni really has a green light (from the Lerners) to spend at the deadline if they are still in WC contention? \u2014 Lynn G.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not entirely sure what you mean by \u201cspend.\u201d If you mean \u201cadd big-league talent,\u201d then that is (broadly speaking) within the confines of what president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is allowed to do and a decision that will largely be left to the front office. If you mean \u201cincrease the payroll,\u201d then I don\u2019t have a definitive answer for you. I\u2019m almost certain adding a player with a large deal would require a conversation with ownership because that\u2019s how MLB organizations work. Knowing what I know about the way the deadline works and how the organization is run, I believe the dollar amount attached to whatever player they are interested in should be a smaller factor than the quality of the player (or his value per dollar).<\/p>\n

Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. is a sell-high candidate right now. Would Luis be a good enough chip (along with others) for quality bullpen pieces? \u2014 Stephen M.<\/p>\n

A big leaguer-for-big leaguer swap feels unlikely, though it\u2019s not a wild idea. To a larger point, a National League evaluator who spoke anonymously because they did not have permission to discuss the matter publicly recently told me Garc\u00eda and Curtis Mead have improved their value dramatically over the last six weeks. The other factors at play, if we\u2019re talking about the market:<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t a lot of teams that need a right-handed-hitting first baseman and DH unless they are exceptional. And also \u2026
\nGarcia has been exceptional.
\nHe is under club control through the end of next year. He is making $6.875 million this year and is set to make more next year.<\/p>\n

It feels like regardless of where the Nationals are in buy\/sell\/both mode next month, they\u2019ll inevitably look to clear some of their logjams one way or another over the next month? \u2014 Michael N.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t view it as \u201cclearing\u201d a logjam because teams\u2019 best-laid plans at any position can change so quickly in this sport. I\u2019d put it like this: From 30,000 feet, it\u2019s fair to reason the Nationals\u2019 most likely deadline scenario includes trading from a position of strength and acquiring a position of weakness. But again, the most important thing is the overall value on each side of the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 One week has passed since The Athletic\u00a0released its trade deadline tiers, in which we placed the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99,2331],"class_list":["post-750374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-washington-nationals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}