The Nationals are juggling various possibilities as the deadline approaches. Washington is one game above .500 and enters a difficult series in Atlanta two games back in a crowded NL Wild Card field. They’re ahead of schedule in the rebuild and have arguably MLB’s best offense, but the pitching staff is the worst of any postseason hopeful.
Washington is weighing whether to part with any players who would’ve been obvious trade candidates if they weren’t surprisingly competitive. Foster Griffin might be the most in-demand rental starter not named Tarik Skubal, as he’s having a fantastic season and playing on a modest $5.5MM salary. Extension talks haven’t gotten far, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if tomorrow night’s start in his final in a Nats uniform. Griffin is their only big impending free agent, so they could opt for a quiet deadline beyond capitalizing on his breakout year.
The big question is whether to listen on CJ Abrams, who is under arbitration control through 2028. Abrams leads all shortstops with 27 home runs and took a .292/.365/.561 slash line into tonight’s game. Even as he gives back some of that value with the glove, it’s rare offensive ability for an up-the-middle player. It’d require a monster haul for the Nats to think about moving their franchise shortstop. Jeff Passan of ESPN writes that some clubs are considering making that kind of offer.
Abrams has gotten attention from the Yankees. The Red Sox are known to be in the shortstop market. The Rays have a deep farm system and could put together a compelling package for any star player available. Washington could justifiably demand that any Boston deal is built around rookie southpaw Payton Tolle or top shortstop prospect Franklin Arias. The Sox and Nationals lined up on one key swap of young players last week.
The Nats could push for Tampa Bay to build a return around their top prospect, outfielder Theo Gillen. Passan suggests that while the Rays aren’t likely to part with Gillen for any rental (even Skubal), they may not be completely opposed to doing so for a player with a longer window of contractual control.
If Washington decides to take Abrams off the market, they could mostly stand pat beyond a Griffin trade. First baseman Luis García Jr., eligible for arbitration through ’27, would surely get interest but isn’t going to command a franchise-altering return. He’s also having a huge year offensively, including hitting his 23rd homer while threatening to hit for the cycle tonight. However, he has limited defensive value as a league average first baseman and an aggressive approach that keeps his on-base percentage down.
The Nationals probably aren’t going to be super aggressive buyers for rentals. Last week’s trade of Curtis Mead for Connelly Early suggests they’re not afraid of bold moves, but that didn’t deviate from the long-term plan. They could add around the margins of the roster, though, with one of MLB’s worst bullpens standing as the obvious point of emphasis.
Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic wrote this week that the Nats are open to trading lower-end prospects to deepen the roster for the stretch run, perhaps by adding a rental reliever. It seems safe to assume they’re not going to beat the field for a marquee name like Adrian Morejon, but there are plenty of veteran bullpen arms who’d be available for a minimal return and still upgrade Washington’s late-inning mix. It’s highly unlikely that any prospect they surrender for someone like Kirby Yates, John Schreiber or Caleb Ferguson (to name a few examples) will burn them in the long run.
In one other bit of Nats news, the team announced that left-hander Mitchell Parker underwent UCL surgery with an internal brace on Wednesday (relayed by Mark Zuckerman of Nats Journal). That has been the expectation since Parker was diagnosed with a Grade 3 sprain of the ligament last month. He’s already on the 60-day injured list but will need to be reinstated onto the 40-man roster after the World Series. Parker will miss most or all of the ’27 season.
