The Washington Nationals are stuck in limbo between competing and focusing on the future. One month away from the deadline, what should the front office do?
What should the Nationals do at the deadline?
With less than a month to go before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the Nationals find themselves in a tough situation.
At 46-44, and only three games out of a wild card spot, the team could hypothetically be a buyer. But they also could be a seller, as they are far from guaranteed to make up that three-game gap and are 7.5 games out of the division lead.
Paul Toboni, the president of baseball operations, has said that “everything is on the table” at the deadline. Perhaps, then, it is worthwhile to evaluate who, exactly, these Nationals are at this point in the season.
Offensively, this team has been nothing but a pleasant surprise. It has been one of the league’s most productive offenses — and there are stats to back that claim up.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Nationals are ninth in batting average (.248), tenth in on base percentage (.322), second in slugging percentage (.429), fourth in OPS (.752) and a close second in runs scored (480).
Objectively, that is a top ten offense, and it is led by a stellar young duo of outfielder James Wood and shortstop CJ Abrams, both 2026 all stars. Wood is just 23, and Abrams is not much older at 25 — both players could serve as building blocks for the future.
Or, they could serve as incredibly enticing trade bait. But why would the Nationals do that, if the youth-driven offense is so good?
Because for as good as the offense is, the pitching may be worse.
Washington is 25th in ERA (4.66), 23rd in WHIP (1.39), second to last in shutouts (2) and 27th in home runs allowed (124). The bullpen has been borderline impossibly bad at times and while projected ace Cade Cavalli has been good, the best pitcher in the rotation has been 30-year-old rookie Foster Griffin (who has been incredible with a 2.87 ERA, but it’s generally not a good sign when your best arm is a rookie on the wrong side of 30).
All of this is to say that while the 2026 Nationals have been a pleasant surprise — nobody would’ve projected this team to be above .500 at this point in the season — they are almost certainly not a contender.
Where that leaves the team, and what to do about it, is something the front office will have to determine. Perhaps there is a way to sell or buy on the margins, without having to cash in major assets or trade away a budding superstar (or two).
Is it time for a fire sale? Probably not, but it is likely this team will be best suited to go all in sometime in the future, and not in the present.
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