To me, the most fascinating baseball-wide story as it relates to the trade deadline is what is happening with the Washington Nationals.
Despite having one of the most talented on-paper rosters in baseball, the club has so wildly disappointed in the first half that they are under .500, are far back in East (behind two teams), and far enough back in the Wild Card race that they could very easily be justified in selling the next two days. Never would have seen that coming.
And, as you’d expect in that situation, things are reportedly ugly:
"The clubhouse is a mess."
One day from the trade deadline, the Washington Nationals are under .500 and considering selling. How did arguably the most talented team in the NL turn into this? Sources outline the Nationals' mess of a season in 10 Degrees: https://t.co/817PsWn3du
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2018
It remains to be seen just how deeply the Nationals could/would sell in these final 24 hours, but they do have many short-term pieces – Kelvin Herrera and Daniel Murphy, chief among them – that they should strongly consider moving.
Then, of course, there’s Bryce Harper. Even as his numbers have disappointed in many ways this year, he’d still bring a freaking haul if the Nationals traded him. But the thing is, the Nationals no doubt want to preserve the possibility of re-signing him after the season. While it’s still possible he could come back after a trade, it so rarely happens. If the Nationals trade Harper now, they will unquestionably lose some of their negotiating position in trying to re-up with Harper.
I have no clue what the Nationals will actually do, but I’m fascinated to see what happens.
What a crummy first year for former Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez, who will bear a lot of the blame for the underperformance of this team in his first managerial season.
UPDATE: this is fine dot gif:
Per sources, #Nationals taking offers for potential FA relievers – Herrera, Kelley, Madson. Want top prospect for Herrera when they gave up less for an extra month of control. “Feels like ownership asking them to sell and (front office) not wanting to,” one rival exec said.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2018
Have heard from a number of people affiliated with the Nationals since writing this earlier today who have confirmed the central thesis: Washington's clubhouse is a problem, confidence in manager Davey Martinez has eroded and the Nats' trouble runs deep. https://t.co/817PsWn3du pic.twitter.com/kUwnQgj0hi
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2018