{"id":797708,"date":"2026-08-01T16:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/797708\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T16:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:42:09","slug":"what-were-hearing-about-nationals-foster-griffin-and-other-pitchers-at-mlb-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/797708\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re hearing about Nationals\u2019 Foster Griffin and other pitchers at MLB trade deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a compilation of the latest reporting<\/a> from The Athletic\u2019s team of reporters as Monday\u2019s trade deadline approaches.<\/p>\n

Foster Griffin conundrumTrade or extend? Nationals face a choice<\/p>\n

For the Washington Nationals, the decision on how to proceed with left-hander Foster Griffin comes down to a simple question: Which would be more valuable to them, signing Griffin to an extension or the return they might get in a trade?<\/p>\n

As of Saturday morning both outcomes remain possible, according to a person briefed on the Nationals\u2019 dealings. The decision ultimately might rest on whether the Nats deem the value of a trade to be significantly greater than that of an extension.<\/p>\n

Griffin, 31, has been one of the best stories of the 2026 campaign, returning from three seasons in Japan to sign a one-year, $5.5 million free-agent contract with the Nationals and produce a 3.06 ERA in 129 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n

A number of left-handed rental starters are available in trade. The list is topped by Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, and also includes the San Francisco Giants\u2019 Robbie Ray, Baltimore Orioles\u2019 Trevor Rogers and Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 Eric Lauer. Griffin\u2019s salary is lower than all but Lauer\u2019s, making him attractive to both large- and small-market clubs.<\/p>\n

The trade market also includes controllable lefties such as the Los Angeles Angels\u2019 Reid Detmers and New York Yankees\u2019 Ryan Weathers, not to mention a large number of right-handed starters, both rental and controllable.<\/p>\n

The Nationals could trade Griffin and then try to re-sign him as a free agent, but teams rarely succeed in such maneuvers. Players who are traded often feel a cord is cut, and get swayed by the competition on the open market.<\/p>\n

The financial latitude with which the new Nats\u2019 front office is operating is unclear. Griffin, though, does not figure to command a particularly long or pricey contract. The Athletic\u2019s Barry Svrluga recently speculated that Griffin might be in line<\/a> for a three-year deal in the range of $36 million to $42 million. \u2014 Rosenthal<\/p>\n

Why is everyone watching for hugs before the trade deadline?<\/p>\n

Tyler Kepner and Lauren Morales-Jones<\/p>\n

Dodgers on SkubalPursuit expected even as rotation gets healthier<\/p>\n

Part of the reason Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has downplayed the need for starting pitching (read: Tarik Skubal) is because the Dodgers believe they\u2019ll have their rotation of aces back at full strength by October. That\u2019s indeed looking more likely, even with Shohei Ohtani\u2019s status as a pitcher uncertain.<\/p>\n

Blake Snell (elbow surgery) will make his final rehab outing Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma. Tyler Glasnow, who has been out since early May with recurring back spasms, will start a rehab assignment Tuesday with Class-A Ontario. He\u2019s scheduled to throw two innings.<\/p>\n

Having both Snell and Glasnow back in the rotation arguably improves the team more than any non-Skubal addition. Still, with Skubal talks expected to heat up any moment, the Dodgers will be in the thick of those conversations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that Friedman despises making major deals at the deadline \u2014 when the cost of acquiring meaningful talent is at a premium. It\u2019s also true that a projected playoff rotation of last year\u2019s World Series squad \u2014 Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow \u2014 doesn\u2019t leave much room for Skubal.<\/p>\n

Friedman downplayed concerns over Ohtani\u2019s sore knee and biceps, saying he was confident his two-way star would begin throwing bullpens soon. But if Ohtani, who hasn\u2019t pitched in a game since July 3, faces any setbacks \u2014 or the Dodgers deem his bat more important than his arm in October \u2014 wouldn\u2019t they need reinforcements?<\/p>\n

For as much as the Dodgers try to avoid major midseason acquisitions, if they\u2019re going to make one, it\u2019s going to be for a player that significantly improves their odds in October. They have a third straight World Series to win, after all. Only one such player exists this deadline, and that\u2019s Skubal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our mindset is always, and we\u2019ve talked about this, there just aren\u2019t that many star-level players in the game,\u201d Friedman said to reporters Wednesday. \u201cAny time one is available, we\u2019re always going to participate in those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skubal, the reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner, certainly qualifies as a star player \u2014 and he\u2019s available. The Dodgers will be involved in the bidding, even with Snell and Glasnow inching closer to returns. \u2014 Katie Woo<\/p>\n

Padres pitching targetsReds\u2019 Brady Singer among potential options<\/p>\n

As the Padres weigh a variety of factors ahead of the trade deadline, the status of Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove looms larger than most. Pivetta, the team\u2019s Opening Day starter, has been sidelined by an elbow flexor strain since April. Musgrove, a former rotation stalwart, is attempting to return from the Tommy John surgery he underwent after the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

Without Pivetta and Musgrove, the Padres have recently gone from struggling with a makeshift rotation to experimenting with an 11-man bullpen<\/a>. According to people briefed on the team\u2019s thinking, potential trade targets include the New York Mets\u2019 Freddy Peralta, the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 Kevin Gausman and the Cincinnati Reds\u2019 Brady Singer. Acquiring a frontline starter or multiple solid arms figures to be a challenge for an organization with a 30th-ranked farm system and likely limited financial flexibility.<\/p>\n

Thus, the Padres must continue to hope Pivetta and Musgrove progress without setbacks. Getting even one of the veterans back on the mound this summer could make a vast difference. \u2014 Dennis Lin<\/p>\n

Astros eye pitchingHouston has reason to address rotation vulnerability<\/p>\n

For most of this past month, Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown has maintained that offense is his primary focus at the trade deadline. Friday\u2019s news that Tatsuya Imai is moving to the bullpen<\/a> doesn\u2019t change Brown\u2019s objective, but it does underscore the vulnerability of a starting rotation that could use reinforcements.<\/p>\n

Entering Friday, only the Colorado Rockies had a higher rotation ERA than the Astros, who have cycled through a major-league high 15 different starting pitchers this season. Peter Lambert\u2019s breakout season<\/a> \u2014 and perhaps a return to form from reigning Cy Young finalist Hunter Brown \u2014 will help buoy a unit that could still benefit from a boost.<\/p>\n

Brown seems willing to bet that Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski can provide it. Both right-handers have returned to Houston\u2019s rotation after a yearlong absence while recovering from Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n

Relying on them to be both effective and durable is a dangerous gamble \u2014 one Brown waged last season after he failed to acquire a starter at the trade deadline. Cristian Javier, Spencer Arrighetti and Luis Garcia struggled in their return from respective injuries, leading Houston\u2019s rotation to sputter in September.<\/p>\n

As a result, Houston is involved in the pitching market this season, but it still does not profile as their biggest priority. Imai moving to the bullpen is not some sort of inflection point \u2014 he\u2019s been pitching poorly for most of this season and never had a firm grip on a rotation spot \u2014 but does heighten curiosity about how sustainable this rotation is. \u2014 Chandler Rome<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s a compilation of the latest reporting from The Athletic\u2019s team of reporters as Monday\u2019s trade deadline approaches.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":797709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[373,2323,363,2328,99,2331],"class_list":["post-797708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-houston-astros","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-mlb","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sports","tag-washington-nationals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797708","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=797708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}