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Nationals’ Luis Garcia Jr. Taking Pregame First Base Reps

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Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr. has begun taking pregame drills at first base, writes Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. While the Nats don’t have any plans to get García imminent game action there, Golden writes that they could give him a look at some point as they plan ahead to 2026.

García hasn’t played anywhere other than second base since the end of 2022. He got a few months of shortstop run that year but clearly wasn’t cut out for that position. He’s not a particularly good second baseman either. Defensive Runs Saved has graded him negatively in three straight years. Statcast’s Outs Above Average gave him above-average marks in 2024 but has had him as a subpar defender in every other season of his career. Both metrics have him alongside Kristian Campbell and Brandon Lowe among the league’s three worst defensive second basemen this season. Statcast feels he’s been particularly poor at tracking balls hit up the middle.

Infield defense has been a team-wide issue for a few seasons. CJ Abrams grades as one of the sport’s weakest defensive shortstops. José Tena was a non-viable option at third base earlier in the year. Rookie Brady House is getting everyday run at the hot corner now and raised the floor with the glove, but he hasn’t hit enough to stake a firm claim to the job going into next season.

Statcast grades the Nats’ overall infield defense at -31 Outs Above Average. That’s not only the worst in MLB, it’s 11 outs below the 29th-place Angels. Washington ranked 25th in that category a year ago. The Nats have allowed an MLB-high .278 batting average on ground-balls despite ranking middle of the pack in hard contact. They need to be far better defensively if they’re to take a step towards contention in 2026.

García has been a solid but not elite hitter over the past couple seasons. He turned in a career-best .282/.318/.444 showing with 18 homers and 22 stolen bases last year. The slash line has regressed to a .260/.300/.397 mark this season, but his results have lagged more impressive batted ball metrics all year. García doesn’t seem dramatically different than he was a year ago: a slightly above-average hitter who shouldn’t be playing up the middle on an everyday basis.

The bat is probably too light for him to be an average or better regular at first base. That said, the Nationals don’t have an obvious in-house candidate to play there next season. The Nathaniel Lowe trade didn’t work. Josh Bell is an impending free agent. Even if Washington re-signs him on a one-year deal, his streakiness makes him a better bench bat than a regular. There’s nothing to suggest the Nationals are projecting García to make a full-time move there, but there’s little downside in getting him comfortable at another position.

Washington’s offseason plans won’t be known until they hire a permanent GM and manager. Mike DeBartolo and Miguel Cairo are currently holding those roles on interim bases. Whether they keep that leadership structure in place or hire externally, they’ll need to address the infield over the offseason. First base is the most obvious priority, but getting García some kind of versatility would provide more flexibility for a free agent run at Gleyber Torres or to explore trade possibilities at the keystone.

MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
  • If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
  • What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Nationals Claim Julian Fernandez

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The Nationals have claimed right-hander Julian Fernandez off waivers from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. The Nationals had a 40-man roster vacancy and optioned Fernandez to Triple-A Rochester, so no corresponding moves were necessary. Fernandez had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week to make room for Buddy Kennedy on their 40-man roster.

Fernandez, 29, made his big league debut with the Rockies back in 2021. He surrendered eight runs on nine hits (including two homers) and four walks while striking out four in 6 2/3 innings of work during that brief cup of coffee, however, and was quickly sent back to the minors. Fernandez spent 2022 at the minor league level with the Rockies before signing a minor league contract with the Blue Jays. Getting out of the Rockies organization didn’t help much, however, as he posted a 10.61 ERA in 9 1/3 innings of work for the club’s Buffalo affiliate.

After 2023, Fernandez departed affiliated ball and pitched for the Mexican League’s El Aguila de Veracruz. He pitched extremely well for Veracruz, with a 1.82 ERA in 34 2/3 innings of work. He struck out 32.1% of his opponents while walking just 9.0%, and that was enough to get the Dodgers’ attention this past offseason. He signed with L.A. on a minor league deal and began the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He pitched quite well for that affiliate, with a 3.05 ERA in 35 outings made all the more impressive by the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. His 28.7% strikeout rate wasn’t quite as high as it was with Veracruz, but an 8.8% walk rate was actually even better than in the Mexican League.

That was enough to earn Fernandez a call-up to the majors last month, though it proved to be a brief one. He made a single, two-inning appearance with Los Angeles where he surrendered two runs on two hits (one homer) and a walk while striking out one. The Dodgers optioned Fernandez to the minors where he continued to find success at Triple-A, but he was eventually squeezed off the club’s roster and now finds himself headed to D.C. after being plucked off waivers by the Nationals.

With Washington, Fernandez figures to get a more extended big league opportunity. The Nats shipped out a number of big league relief arms ahead of the deadline (including closer Kyle Finnegan), and now Fernandez joins a very unproven bullpen mix where he should get plenty of opportunities to prove himself capable of holding down a big league job. If Fernandez can establish himself with the Nationals down the stretch, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the club hold onto him as they look to rebuild their bullpen for 2026 and beyond.

Nationals Request Unconditional Release Waivers On Nathaniel Lowe

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TODAY: The Nationals announced that they have requested unconditional release waivers on Lowe.

AUGUST 14: The Nationals announced Thursday that they’ve designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment. He’ll be the corresponding move to open an active roster spot for Dylan Crews, whose previously reported reinstatement from the 60-day injured list is now official.

It’s an unexpected end to what’ll go down as a lackluster tenure with the Nats for Lowe, whom Washington acquired from the Rangers over the winter. The Nats sent lefty Robert Garcia to Texas in hopes that Lowe, who came to D.C. with two years of club control remaining, could be a multi-year option providing middle-of-the-order punch to a young lineup. It hasn’t gone as hoped, to say the least.

Lowe, 30, was a steady source of production with the Rangers from 2021-24, hitting .274/.359/.432 (124 wRC+) with 78 home runs — including a career-high 27 round-trippers back in 2022. He hasn’t come anywhere near that level of production with the Nationals. In 490 plate appearances, he’s batted just .216/.292/.373 with a 26.5% strikeout rate that stands as the highest of his career in a full season. Lowe’s 9.6% walk rate is better than average but still the second-lowest of his career and a ways shy of the 11.3% clip he recorded during that four-year peak with the Rangers.

Lowe hit a grand slam yesterday, his first homer since July 19, but that was just his third hit in the month of August despite regular playing time. He hasn’t had a multi-hit game since July 18 and is batting only .167/.271/.294 in his past 36 games (144 plate appearances). The home run yesterday was a big hit but not enough for Lowe to save his job with the Nats.

The Nationals likely explored potential deals for Lowe prior to the trade deadline, but his ongoing slump and fairly hefty $10.3MM salary would’ve served as significant impediments to finding a deal. With the deadline now behind them, the Nats will have no recourse other than to place Lowe on outright waivers or release waivers. At this point, that’s little more than a paper distinction. Lowe crossed five years of major league service time less than a month into the season, meaning he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency and still retain the remainder of that guarantee as he heads to the open market.

All 29 other teams will have the opportunity to claim Lowe, but in light of his immense struggles, it’s hard to see another team claiming the remaining $2.49MM on his contract. If Lowe passes through waivers unclaimed, he’ll become a free agent who can sign with any team. A new team would only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. The Nationals will remain on the hook for the rest of his salary.

If Lowe can catch on elsewhere and return to form, he’d technically remain under club control with that new team through 2026. However, he’d be due a (small) raise on that $10.3MM salary, so he’d need to make quite the impression in the final few weeks of the season in order to convince a new club that he’s worthy of an $11MM+ expenditure. The Nationals were clearly going to non-tender him — they wouldn’t have made this move if not — and in all likelihood Lowe will be a free agent in search of rebound opportunities this winter.

The Nats have up to five days to place Lowe on waivers. If they wait the maximum amount of time, that guaranteed salary will drop slightly, to about $2.2MM, but it’s still unlikely that another club would claim that sum.

With Lowe out the door in D.C., the Nats can give increased first base reps to a resurgent Josh Bell, which would free up the DH spot to rotate several young players. Alternative options at first bae in the upper minors include Juan Yepez, Yohandy Morales and Trey Lipscomb, though of that trio only Lipscomb is on the 40-man roster — and both Yepez and Morales have struggled in Triple-A.

Nationals To Activate Dylan Crews Tomorrow

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The Nationals are planning to reinstate outfielder Dylan Crews from the 60-day injured list tomorrow, reports Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan. He’ll serve as the designated hitter today in what will be his final Triple-A rehab game before rejoining the big league club. Washington has multiple 40-man roster vacancies, so the Nats will only need to clear a spot on the active roster. Crews has been out since late May due to a significant oblique strain.

Crews, 23, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, going one pick after college teammate Paul Skenes. The LSU product debuted late last year and broke camp with the Nats in 2025, but he’s yet to produce at the levels expected for a former top pick who ranked as one of the sport’s best prospects prior to graduating to the majors. Crews has tallied 305 big league plate appearances and posted only a .206/.275/.354 slash in that time.

A disastrous start to his 2025 season has perhaps disproportionately skewed both his 2025 results and his career line to date. Crews was hitless through his first 19 plate appearances this year and struggled considerably for a couple weeks even after getting off the schneid. Through April 14, Crews took 49 turns at the plate and hit .106/.143/.106 with a 36.7% strikeout rate.

Things began trending up from there. Crews went on an eight-game hitting streak, followed that with a series of multi-hit performances and began turning his season around. He homered in his final two games prior to landing on the injured list. The overall production still wasn’t elite, but from April 15 through his May 21 IL placement, Crews hit .234/.315/.459 (116 wRC+) with seven home runs and a greatly reduced 24.2% strikeout rate in 124 plate appearances. Along the way, he averaged 90.9 mph off the bat and posted a strong 44.4% hard-hit rate.

It’s been a similar story on his minor league rehab stint. Crews was hitless in his first three Triple-A games but has shaken off the rust with a .294/.333/.500 slash over his past nine games with Rochester (36 plate appearances). He’ll get one final tune-up today before returning to the Nats tomorrow. That’ll give Crews a bit more than six weeks to hopefully build on the momentum he appeared to be gaining from mid-April through late May.

Even with the slow start to his big league career, Crews is still seen as a key piece of the Nationals’ future. He’s controllable for five more years beyond the current season and won’t even turn 24 until February. If he can continue his upward trajectory in the final few weeks of the season, there’ll be some optimism about the long-term outlook in the outfield. James Wood is an emerging star who’ll likely top 30 homers in his first full major league season. Crews can handle center but profiles better in right, leaving center field up for grabs among a group including defensive standout Jacob Young, former top picks Robert Hassell III and Daylen Lile, and deadline pickup Christian Franklin (who came over from the Cubs in the Michael Soroka trade).

Nationals Recall Cade Cavalli

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August 6: The Nats made it official today, announcing that they’ve recalled Cavalli and optioned Lara.

August 5: The Nationals are recalling Cade Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester to start tomorrow’s game against the A’s, interim manager Miguel Cairo told reporters (relayed by Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). While the team has not officially announced the move, they did option Andry Lara to open the necessary active roster spot.

Cavalli, a 2020 first-round pick who was once one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, will step on a major league mound for the first time in almost three years. The Nats called him up in August 2022. Cavalli gave up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Reds during his MLB debut. (For perspective on how long it has been, Mike Minor started that game for Cincinnati, while Steve Cishek and Jake McGee came out of the Washington bullpen.) Cavalli came out of that start with shoulder discomfort that ended his season. His elbow blew out the following spring, and he underwent Tommy John surgery.

The road back wasn’t smooth. Cavalli obviously missed the entire ’23 campaign. He made a few attempts to rehab the following season but encountered setbacks and spent that whole year on the injured list as well. Cavalli remained on the IL to open this year and wasn’t officially activated until May 11. The Nats optioned him to Rochester, where they’d be able to more effectively limit his innings after two and a half lost seasons.

Cavalli has made 15 Triple-A starts. He’s averaging 4 1/3 innings per appearance and has only twice completed six frames. Cavalli dominated minor league competition early on but has hit a rough patch. He’s allowed four or more runs in five of his past six starts. That leaves him with an unimpressive 6.09 earned run average on the season. Cavalli’s 25% strikeout rate and near-55% ground-ball percentage are more encouraging. His velocity has also returned to pre-injury levels. He’s averaging nearly 96 MPH on his four-seam fastball and sinker while sitting around 84 with his power curveball.

Now 26, Cavalli was once viewed as a potential mid-rotation starter. He still has that kind of raw stuff, but his command has always been a work in progress. He lost nearly three seasons of development time and faces questions about what kind of workload he’s capable of handling. There’s a chance his long-term future is in the bullpen, but the Nats remain in a rebuild and have little reason to give up on him as a starter right now.

This was Cavalli’s first option season. He has accrued more than two years of service time. The only silver lining from his perspective is that the initial injury occurred after he’d been called up, so he picked up MLB service and was paid a major league salary until he was officially activated from the IL in mid-May. He won’t reach the three-year threshold this season because of the time spent on optional assignment. The Nats control him for another four years.

Nationals Activate PJ Poulin For MLB Debut

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The Nationals announced today that left-hander PJ Poulin, recently claimed off waivers from the Tigers, has been added to the active roster. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. The club also recalled right-hander Clayton Beeter and optioned righties Zach Brzykcy and Ryan Loutos in corresponding moves. TalkNats reported the moves prior to the official announcement.

It’s been a long journey to the big leagues for the lefty Poulin, now 29 years old, who was drafted by the Rockies back in 2018. With that organization, he reached Triple-A in 2022 and pitched at that level in 2023 as well. However, his results weren’t great for the Isotopes. He had a 6.20 earned run average in 69 2/3 innings for Albuquerque over those two seasons.

In March of 2024, the Rockies flipped him to the Tigers for cash. He was sent to Double-A after that trade but worked his way back up to Triple-A by July of 2024. In the year-plus since that promotion, he has thrown 68 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.54 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and grounders on about half the balls in play he’s allowed.

The Tigers selected him to their 40-man roster a month ago but immediately optioned him back to Triple-A Toledo. He had an upward mobility clause in his contract and the Tigers didn’t want him to get away. However, they made a number of additions to their roster ahead of the deadline, squeezing Poulin onto the waiver wire.

The Nats gave him a roster spot and could give him a significant big league audition as well. Ahead of the deadline, they sent out Kyle Finnegan, Luis García and Andrew Chafin, opening some bullpen spots. They also moved Brad Lord to the rotation a few weeks ago to replace the injured Trevor Williams. The trade of Michael Soroka opened another rotation spot.

In short, there are a lot of innings to cover down the stretch, so guys like Poulin and Beeter could earn roles on next year’s club by putting up some decent numbers before the offseason. Poulin becomes the fourth lefty in the big league bullpen alongside Jose A. Ferrer, Konnor Pilkington and Shinnosuke Ogasawara.

Photo courtesy of Dave Nelson, Imagn Images

Poll: Who Had The Best Deadline In The NL East?

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The trade deadline has come and gone. While trade season was slow to get started this year, when all was said and done, there were several dozen trades made in a flurry of movement over the final few days before the deadline arrived. The full impact of these trades won’t be known for years to come, but that doesn’t mean we can’t analyze the deals and decide whose haul looks the best right now. Over the next week-plus, MLBTR will be running a series of polls asking which club in each division had the best deadline, starting today with the National League East. A look at each of the five clubs, listed from best to worst record in 2025:

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies made one of the biggest trades of the entire deadline when they landed closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins. With a 1.93 ERA and 18 saves this season, Duran figures to fortify the back of the bullpen and checks off the biggest need for Philadelphia. The club made a few more deals, but none were quite as impactful as adding Duran. Harrison Bader should provide a strong complement to Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler in the outfield against left-handed pitching while also improving the club’s defense. Matt Manning and Brewer Hicklen are purely depth additions who are not on the club’s active roster but could offer some protection against injury. Losing Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait from the farm system in order to bring in Duran is a blow, but the value an elite closer like Duran could provide over the next two-plus years figures to justify that cost.

New York Mets

The Mets took nearly the opposite approach to their primary rival for the division title this deadline, as they made a number of mid-level additions without swinging any one massive blockbuster. They added a second All-Star closer to the roster when they scooped up Ryan Helsley in a deal with the Cardinals to serve as the top setup man for closer Edwin Diaz, and further fortified their bullpen with trades for Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto. They capped their deadline off by adding Cedric Mullins to the outfield in a move that could be game-changing for a club that was forced to rely on Tyrone Taylor (55 wRC+) as their regular center fielder throughout the first half. A legitimate starting-caliber player in center field and one of the best bullpens in the league should leave most Mets fans pretty happy with these additions, but the cost was significant. The Mets surrendered their #6, #10, #14, #22, #25, #27, and #28 prospects (according to Baseball America) in these trades alongside big league reliever Jose Butto. The club’s top five prospects remained untouched, but it’s still a steep price to pay for a package of players who are all ticketed for free agency this winter.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins had a rather quiet deadline where their headline move was shipping outfielder Jesus Sanchez to the Astros in exchange for a package of three players headlined by young starter Ryan Gusto. Aside from that, the fish dealt catcher Nick Fortes to the Rays for Double-A outfielder Matthew Etzel in a move that opens up playing time behind the plate for Agustin Ramirez and Liam Hicks and picked up depth reliever Michael Petersen from the Braves in a cash deal. The Sanchez move was a solid one that brings a young pitching talent into the fold for a club with a knack for developing young arms, but the most notable thing about Miami’s deadline is what they didn’t do: trade Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera. A run to the postseason this year is still very unlikely, but the quiet trade deadline gave the 55-55 Marlins a chance to see if they can keep up their recent torrid pace for another two months.

Atlanta Braves

Atlanta had something of a perplexing deadline. Like the Marlins, the biggest storyline here isn’t about the moves they made but rather about their decision to keep Raisel Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna in the fold. While Alcantara and Cabrera both have multiple seasons of control remaining with the Marlins, Iglesias and Ozuna are pending free agents who cannot even be extended Qualifying Offers this November. It was puzzling to see Atlanta shy away from dealing either of them and instead make a small handful of pitching additions. Erick Fedde, Dane Dunning, Tyler Kinley, Carlos Carrasco, and Hunter Stratton were added to help fortify a beleaguered pitching staff, and the trio of Fedde, Dunning, and Carrasco should help protect the club’s young arms from overuse down the stretch. The Rafael Montero trade stands as the club’s biggest sell-side move, however, while only Stratton (and perhaps Kinley or Dunning) will impact the club beyond the 2025 campaign of the team’s acquisitions.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals were the most aggressive sellers in the division as they shipped out Amed Rosario, Alex Call, Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Andrew Chafin, and Luis Garcia. Of that group, only the 30-year-old Call was controlled beyond the 2025 season. With a lackluster 44-67 record, it’s understandable that the Nationals would sell off a number of pieces, though they did hold onto some of their controllable pieces with higher potential for impact like MacKenzie Gore and Nathaniel Lowe. Former top prospects Jake Eder and Clayton Beeter are perhaps the most recognizable names from the haul the Nats received for their veteran pieces, but they received ten prospects and young players in total. According to MLB Pipeline, the club’s #10 (Sean Paul Linan), #11 (Christian Franklin), #12 (Eriq Swan), #13 (Ronny Cruz), #23 (Josh Randall), and #24 (Beeter) prospects were all acquired in this sell-off. That should keep their farm system fairly well-stocked headed in the first offseason of the post-Mike Rizzo era of Nationals baseball.

The NL East’s teams ran the gamut between buying and selling this year. The Phillies and Mets were both aggressive buyers, but took different approaches as the Phillies prioritized a controllable star while New York focused on the short-term. The Marlins and Braves were mostly quiet this summer, while the Nationals bolstered their farm system through several trades of veteran players. Who do MLBTR readers think had the best deadline of the division? Have your say in the poll below:

Padres “Made A Real Run At” MacKenzie Gore Trade

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There wasn’t much sense that the Nationals would be trading MacKenzie Gore, though that didn’t stop the Cubs, Yankees, and surely several other teams from at least checking in on the southpaw’s availability.  The New York Post’s Jon Heyman adds the Padres to the mix as a team that wasn’t just interested in Gore, but was perhaps at the top of the list of suitors.  As per Heyman, the Padres were “maybe the most aggressive pursuer” for Gore, and “made a real run” at trying to work out a trade with Washington.

Obviously there’s a lot of familiarity between the two sides, as San Diego drafted Gore third overall back in 2017 and the left-hander’s first 16 career MLB games came in a Padres uniform in 2022.  That same year, the Padres included Gore as part of a now-legendary trade package sent to the Nats in the blockbuster deadline deal that brought Juan Soto to southern California.  Gore, CJ Abrams, and James Wood have already broken out at the MLB level and Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana could still provide even more future help for Washington down the road.

Even with so much from this particular trade going right, however, the Nationals have yet to turn things around.  President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez were both fired in early July, and the team ended up moving some short-term veteran talent at the deadline, rather than pursue any bigger-picture moves like trading Gore.  Interim GM Mike DeBartolo said a couple of weeks ago that the Nats wanted to keep Gore and the rest of its young core together, and Heyman notes that there wasn’t any indication that even the Padres came close to getting Washington to actually considering moving Gore elswhere.

This year’s trade deadline saw Padres PBO A.J. Preller continue his reputation for bold moves, most notably the six-player swap that brought Mason Miller and JP Sears from the Athletics for a prospect package headlined by Leo De Vries.  As one of the elite prospects in the sport, De Vries is the kind of trade chip that could start a discussion on virtually any player, and moving the young shortstop was probably necessary to convince the A’s to part with a controllable young closer like Miller.  It could be that DeBartolo only would’ve budged on trading Gore if a true blue-chip young talent like De Vries was on the table, but it isn’t known if the Padres would’ve made such an offer.

The Padres ended up addressing their rotation by adding Sears and Nestor Cortes (who was activated today from the 60-day injured list) in separate trades, while dealing Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek to the Royals for catcher Freddy Fermin.  Impending free agent Dylan Cease was also heavily discussed in trade talks, and given San Diego’s interest in Sandy Alcantara and now Gore, Preller seemed to be exploring a scenario that would’ve seen Cease head elsewhere in one trade while another frontline pitcher with more control was added in another swap.  Given all of the moving parts in this two-pronged plan, the trade with the Athletics may have been the relatively simpler solution, as the Padres were able to instead focus their resources on bolstering their already excellent bullpen.

Gore is under arbitration control through the 2027 season, and there has already been speculation that he might not be a long-term candidate to remain in Washington.  Scott Boras is Gore’s agent, for one, but there’s also the possibility that the Nationals may not be ready to truly contend during Gore’s remaining two years, so trading him would be a logical move to add more pieces to the next competitive Nats roster.  More rumors about Gore’s availability figure to swirl for months, though that will be a decision for whomever the Nationals hire as their next full-time president of baseball ops.

Nationals Claim PJ Poulin

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The Nationals announced this afternoon that they’ve claimed left-hander PJ Poulin off waivers from the Tigers. Poulin was designated for assignment to make room for right-hander Charlie Morton on the club’s 40-man roster on the day of the trade deadline.

Poulin, 29, was an 11th-round pick by the Rockies back in 2018. A two-way player in college, Poulin committed to pitching upon his move to affiliated ball. He looked quite good in the lower minors as a reliever in his first two years as a professional, but the canceled minor league season in 2020 lost him a year of development and he generally struggled with his effectiveness in the upper minors during his time with the Rockies organization. He was dealt to the Tigers prior to the 2024 season and has looked quite good since then, with a 2.10 ERA, 2.59 FIP, and 29.8% strikeout rate across the Double- and Triple-A levels last year.

The southpaw returned to Triple-A Toledo this year and has pitched well in 42 2/3 innings of work, with a 3.38 ERA and a fantastic 33.7% strikeout rate against a 9.2% walk rate. Those huge numbers got the attention of the Tigers last month, and led them to add Poulin to the 40-man roster after he exercised an upward mobility clause in his contract. Unfortunately for Poulin, he did not make it to the majors in Detroit before being DFA’d this past week. The good news, however, is that he’s been plucked off the waiver wire by a Nationals team that will be in need of bullpen help down the stretch after parting with key relievers like closer Kyle Finnegan and lefty Andrew Chafin in a sell-off at the deadline.

That should give Poulin a clear shot to make the majors and show what he can do at the big league level at some point down the stretch, and if he impresses the Nationals would have full control over him given that he has not yet made his big league debut and has zero MLB service time. He’ll be competing with players like Konnor Pilkington and Shinnosuke Ogasawara to serve as a left-handed bullpen option for the team now that Jose A. Ferrer is seemingly ticketed for the closer role in Finnegan’s stead.

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