Per a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Nationals have placed a number of players on revocable trade waivers, including outfielder Bryce Harper and second baseman Daniel Murphy.
Of course, the mere fact that both players were placed on waivers doesn’t mean anything in and of itself. As Rosenthal himself notes, virtually every player in MLB will be placed on trade waivers at some point in August, so there’s no way to gauge the Nats’ intentions with Harper and Murphy at this time. There’s little reason not to put these players through trade waivers, actually, since there’s no risk involved on the move. If they clear, the Nationals have the ability to trade either one at any point between now and August 31st. If one is claimed, the club can either choose to work out a deal with the claiming team or simply pull the player back off waivers.
[RELATED: How August Trades Work]
But while the move itself doesn’t bear much in the way of consequences, the responses hereafter will certainly merit close attention, particularly in regards to Harper. Though much was made of the 25-year-old’s somewhat forgettable start to the season, he’s put the campaigns first four months firmly in the rearview mirror by batting a titanic .400/.474/.750 with five home runs so far in the month of August. As Rosenthal notes, Harper’s owed about $5MM more over the remainder of 2018, and if he’s able to continue at anything close to his current pace, he’d certainly be a tremendous asset to any contending club.
The easiest scenario to imagine involving Harper is that he’ll be claimed by a contending National League team, the two sides won’t be able to work out a deal, and the Nats will ultimately revoke the claim, keeping Harper in Washington for the remainder of the season. Trading him, after all, would firmly indicate that the organization is punting the 2018 season, and such a signal to the fans would be a public relations disaster. That disaster would be made even worse should the club experience a sudden hot streak and vault themselves within reach of a playoff spot, only to be without their best hitter.
The timing of the deal, however, has some interesting implications. At this time yesterday the club was only one game removed from a four-game losing streak, when they’d sat a full nine games back of the division-leading Braves. While they’ve won their last two games since then to put a dent in that lead, they’re still seven games behind the Braves, not to mention 6 1/2 back of the Phillies. Their Wild Card outlook isn’t any better; they’re five games back of Milwaukee for the second spot with the Cardinals, Rockies and Dodgers all ahead of them. It’s not at all outlandish to think that now might be the right time for the Nats to try and get whatever they can in return for Harper while saving $5MM in a lost season.
Murphy is the likelier of the two to clear waivers, though he’s no sure bet himself. He’s owed $4MM across the remainder of the season, but has experienced somewhat of a resurgence lately himself. The 33-year-old free agent to be has been crushing baseballs since the All-Star break, posting a .354/.386/.563 batting line with five homers and a strikeout rate in the single digits. There are plenty of contenders who might benefit from adding him to their infield, even if he hasn’t exactly impressed defensively.
“they’re still seven games behind the Braves, not to mention two back of the Phillies.”
Current Standings Braves……Phillies 0.5 games back …. Nats 7 games back. Nats are 6.5 games behind the Phillies.
Honestly, if this is your only complaint, it’s not really worth saying. I’m not claiming to have more meaningful comments, I just think it’s silly to point out meaningless errors.
It’s not meaningless in the context of the article. It’s a bit harder to leap frog a team that is 6.5 games ahead than 2 games. I get it, Kyle simply misread the standings and saw the Phillies as 5 games back instead of 0.5 but for those who don’t often look at standings in the NL East there is a big difference.
Of course it is.
Nerd!
I know that there’s been a trend of rude comments pointing out silly, small errors, but this is a reasonable corrective note to a pretty salient part of the article.
“….there’s been a trend of rude comments pointing out silly, small errors,”
– –
From the article:
“As Rosenthal himself notes, virtually every player in MLB will be placed on trade waivers at some point in August, so there’s no way to gauge the Nats’ intentions with Harper and Murphy at this time. There’s little reason not to put these players through trade waivers, actually, since there’s no risk involved on the move.”
– –
Fair enough.
So where are the other articles listing all the other players placed on trade waivers and what that could mean for their teams? Why single out the Nationals?
Just another “That Said,” that seems to show up on anything written here that is not a factual account of a roster change or a player being put on the DL.
Yet another story that’s not a story.
Clickbait.
With all due respect a trade rumors site does just that, focus on rumors. There have and will continue to be articles for players placed on waivers and those that clear waivers/get claimed. I think not acknowledging the fact that this is substantial from a Wash perspective is absolutely disingenuous, if they were in fact were to trade Harper, Murphy, and other soon to be free agents. Getting mad at the website for publishing a rumor that informs fans of two impact bats that could potentially help shape a wild card seems ridiculous
The only person whose words are meaningless are yours. He added correct info to a flawed column. Your an idiot
Hooray giants fan
Let sign Bryce Harper
They need power hitter
Would love to see Bryce and Strickland make up be friends
I don’t even see this error in the article
summerseason….It was corrected after a few hours.
No way Bryce gets traded.
Tbh if they any kind of legit offer they’d be stupid to turn it down.
They were stupid to not trade him before the deadline ended. Probably passed on a couple of great prospects
Cardinals
I wish Harper would sign with the Cardinals and then sign him long term!!
I would stick with Bader and Ozuna and stuck with Fowler. I have always though Harper is overrated.
Fail
As a Cub Fan i hope the Cards sign Harper to a massive contract. He’s been milking his 2015 season the past 2 years
Lol I have a good friend who is a cub fan and I am a Cardinals fan. We both hope the other team signs him to a big contract.
I’d like to see Epstein sign Harper to a 10-year deal.
Unlikely they pass through unclaimed or even get traded.
The Race for the WC is so close I doubt any team wants to give their opponents a chance to claim him.
Brewers should get him to play SS
LOL. Brewers have the most utterly misplaced collection of infielders that’s for sure. Why not pile on a few more!
The Brewers have made some odd moves. The collection of infielders, for sure. The additions of Cain and Yelich seems to indicate their lack of confidence in their outfield prospects. Or do they plan to use a mix of these people to obtain a catcher, shortstop, and some rotation arms? They have over-performed in 2017 and 2018, but their window of contention is nigh. Can they manœver all this into a winner? I dunno, but it is fun to watch!
Milwaukee has depth prospects but few, if any, difference makers. Hence BAs recent grade of their farm system at 22. Translation….Milwaukee better be all-in because this is about as good as it gets for them.
The addition of Cain and Yelich hardly showed any lack of confidence in their outfield prospects. What it showed was tremendous talent evaluation skill by the Brewers. They recognized that both Brinson and Harrison might be slugs, rather than sluggers, and got Yelich, under control through 2022, for two guys who look like they could be doomed to life below the Mendoza Line. Stealing Shaw and Dubon from the Red Sox wasn’t a bad deal either.
Lmao
He’s the lefty-starter they should’ve gotten at the break.
Bryce throws right handed
Bruh, Harper was a Lefty-pitcher in Senior ball…
“Harper was a Lefty-pitcher in Senior ball…”
Nope. Pitched RH just as he plays the OF RH.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=6pfKXlLPGX0#fauxfullscreen
He also played Catcher. What can’t he do (Bryce fan)
As a fellow Cub fan your constant bashing of the Brewers questionable trades and defensive liabilities are getting a little old. You act like the Cubs have the division locked up and the Brewers are a joke. That offense is for real and I’m sure can score more than 1 run a game 2 days in a row. And yes I know they won both games.
The Cubs can score more than one run a game 2 days in a row as well. They have several times. Do you know how baseball works? Great offense or not, any team is capable of not scoring runs over a stretch. In case you missed the second series the Cubs played against the Brewers, the Brewers scored 2 runs over a 4 games series, getting shut out three times. The Brewers have a good offense, the Cubs have a good offense. But the Cubs are also still 2nd in the league in runs scored.
I’m aware of that fact. I was trying to get the point across that maybe he shouldn’t be constantly knocking a team instead of actually adding some intelligent information. There are too many homers and trolls commenting here and as a Cub fan he does not need to lower himself like that. But there’s always those fans
I predict the Crew signs Kershaw to play SS next year
Go get Harper Cardinals!!! After all of his standing ovations at each at bat from the Busch Stadium crowds. How could he not resist signing a long term contract with these enthusiastic players and fans!!! Take Mo out of the equation. He’ll find all kinds of reasons NOT to go after Harper. The money he’s wasted in the past would have been a good down payment on Harper. Get involved Mr. DeWitt! Here’s your middle of the order bat, perineal All-Star, power hitting hustling player!!! Take charge Mr. DeWitt. Thanks for your consideration!!
Either an amusing typo or the best Harper burn I’ve seen in a while…. “perineal” All-Star.
Agentx, I am educated, but not in the medical area. I googled it. You made me laugh so hard, I about woke up the wife and dog. I am going with a typo, but that is a fantastic burn.
Lol, he’s not going to STL ever.
The Cardinals, like almost every single team in the league, will give Harper some sort of offer in the offseason. You’re forgetting that they had a deal in place to acquire Stanton that he ultimately declined. Mo is clearly willing to increase payroll for the right player, but Harper is going to be overpaid and hopefully not by the Cardinals.
There is likely no chance that Harper falls down the waiver wire enough for the Cardinals to even get a chance to trade for him, but I guarantee that the Cardinals will make a strong offer for him if they do get the chance.
Mo will go after Harper. He’s gone after big free agents the last few offseasons. Just be glad those free agents signed elsewhere because none are living up to their contracts. (Heyward, Price, and Darvish). Mo knows what he’s doing, so back off.
Bruh, Dexter Fowler would like a word…
None of them wanted to play in St Louis! The Cardinals offered them all more money and they chose to play other places for less! So it isn’t about “Mo knowing what he is doing!” It is about him getting lucky and I would argue that the Fowler contract shows he hasn’t necessarily gotten lucky either!
Typical myoptic cardinal fan response
You spelled “Harper has had only one big season” wrong
One issue with the article: Harper is not their best hitter. Juan Soto has had an obviously better season across the board. Rendon and Daniel Murphy are right there as well. I’d take Rendon as a hitter before Harper.
Two good weeks and the entire world is writing off the first 4 months of the season. I really hope some team gives him the $300-400 million contract and has to live through 10 years of decline – their hopes clinging to a few good weeks out of entire season of lackadaisical play.
^ agreed
It’s funny how people view players going into free agency and the contracts they receive. When a player like Albert Pujols hits free agency at 32 and is given a massive deal, it is ridiculed—and rightly so, because Pujols (or any player in similar position) has already played the best baseball they ever will. Yet when a player who is 26 and has yet to play his best baseball is a free agent, people want to ridicule his free agency chances because he hasn’t had a 10 year long career of dominance.
Harper may or may not become a HOF player, but the odds are much better of him living up to whatever FA deal he signs as opposed to Pujols—and likely Trout in a couple of years.
You had me up until Trout. I’ll take the best player in the history of the game at 29 years old over anybody else at any age.
Ted Williams is only 29? I guess that cryogenics works!!!
“You had me up until Trout. I’ll take the best player in the history of the game at 29 years old over anybody else at any age.”
First off, Trout is absolutely fantastic, but he’s not the best player in history. Second, based on the trajectory of MLB contracts Harper’s deal, whatever it is, will be for a lower AAV, and finish paying him at an earlier age, than Trout’s will be. Based on everything we know about sports and how players age, I’d bet that Harper making $40M at 35/36 is a far better investment that any player, Trout included, making $50M at 38/39.
I love Trout, he’s so good and so much fun to watch, but there have been better players, and not 50 or 60 years ago. Barry Bonds was the best player I’ve ever watched play. Yeah, the post-PED Bonds was like a video game freak, but the pre-PED Bonds was one of the best players ever. He was a 100 WAR player before his suspected PED use, who was a better hitter and baserunner.
And I certainly hope Strickland is enough to deter him from coming to San Francisco.
I think the Nats already punted their season away over the last 2 weeks when they have not been able to close out a win.
Yeah, don’t see either guy clearing waivers. At the very least, someone will want to ensure that rival contenders don’t have the right to trade for them.
Harper ain’t coming back. Might as well try to get something
WAS still has time to get a better return than a lottery comp pick after the season. I don’t think the Nats’ fanbase will get as bent outta shape over a Harper trade as MLB will. I’m sure the commissioner has mentioned to Rizzo that it would be bad for baseball for MLB’s poster boy to be a deadline trade. I think that’s the real reason they’ll hang onto Harper.
WAS will only be able to negotiate with one team and that one team won’t offer much more than the value of the comp pick (if they are even interested in trading for Bryce and aren’t just claiming him to block rival contenders from doing so).
Sheffield plus for Harper and Murphy. Send Torres down to AAA to fix himself and ride it to AL East champions. Book it.
I don’t know the Red Sox are pretty good and are on a different level than he Yankees
Don’t fall for his troll…
Yuz outa-order, and yuz benched. Book it Bruh.
Yankees would have to get really lucky. 27 teams would have to fail to claim himfor the Yankees to even have a shot at it. Do you honestly believe that the A’s, the Astros, and the Mariners would all let either Harper or Murphy pass through?
I’d love for the Braves to be able to acquire Murphy and kick Flaherty to the curb. Murphy would be an improved threat coming off the pine in critical situations.
But I seriously doubt that he’d fall to the braves. Even if he made it that far before he was claimed I’m not convinced the two front offices could come to a satisfactory deal before time ran out.
I’m betting neither Harper nor Murphy get claimed. Teams don’t like claiming people with millions of dollars left on their contract. Even if it is just for one year.
Seriously? You think Harper would get past the Phillies? If the claim reaches them—which it most certainly will not—they will absolutely claim him. They’re nowhere near the luxury tax line, have money to burn and the need. The Phillies would/will claim Scherzer and his millions if it came available.
Murphy probably clears, but Harper would get claimed by several teams most likely.
Why would Murphy clear? He’s been on fire lately and is barely owed anything
He’s owed almost as much as Harper is, and he has negative defensive value.
Team will gladly pay $4m for the rest of this season with no financial commitments beyond this year to plug that bat into their lineup for their playoff push. Or at least they would want to block rival contenders from getting him. The Nats aren’t just going to let him leave for nothing so there is really no downside to claiming him.
Claiming a player doesn’t mean you have to trade for them. You claim a player just to make it near-impossible for your rival teams to acquire them.
KD – What standings are *you* looking at? The Nats are 6.5 behind Philly, 5.5 behind the Brewers.
The deal was probably already worked out in St. Louis earlier this week. Give Harper one more home stand and pull him during the game today or tomorrow. If LA or COL dont screw it up, he’ll be a Redbird by tomorrow
I wish
I like your thinking. Shoot the dice! Heyward, Wasn’t bear the talent as Harper. Price might have worked out differently for him in St. Louis. He got off on the wrong foot with the press, and the fans. Then his own attitude. Loved watching Pujols in his prime. Just was too old to sign to that much money and that many years. Harper is a different. 25 years old. Proven star. The bat that could actually catapult the Cardinals to the Central Division title this year
Love it! Get him in here now so he can feel the love!! Cards are hot now maybe we can run with it even if he does not sign in the st
“The easiest scenario to imagine involving Harper is that he’ll be claimed by a contending National League team”
This is not easy to imagine at all. Most of the bottom dwelling teams in the NL would put a claim on him just for the attention, Mets Marlins etc. Less than 1% chance he’d be let go, and they’d be plenty happy if he were, they’d sell a lot of tickets and get some good vibes in their orgs.
lol. No way the Mets take a 001% chance at $5M being added to their payroll. Marlins either.
Some of you need to find better things to do than bicker with each other on here. Don’t ya’ll have wives to do that with?
No the wives slip their pants on every morning and go to work..
” . . . only to be without their best hitter..”
I don’t know that I totally agree with that statement.
Right now, the team that should make a play for Bryce Harper is the Oakland Athletics. They are knocking on the door to first place despite some really interesting starting pitching. Somehow they’ve clawed to within 1 game of Houston. A’s could use another OF with Piscotty and Canha (sorry Pinder).
Oakland is the one team with nothing to lose. They are defying the odds. Why not them?
Obviously there are many teams that could use an OF stick (Cleveland, Cleveland and Cleveland).
Canha has been awful for a very long time (.703 OPS over last 81 games), I think he’d get the chop before Pinder, who is about the same defensively in CF too.
Oakland would have to get really lucky for Bryce to make it to them on waivers
Ofcourse. The only teams vying for Harper are the ones in contention. That leaves 5 AL teams and about 8 NL teams (excluding Washington). Then you can exclude the teams with a bare cupboard (Boston), the ones refusing to empty, the ones with no cap space and then the ones with a crowded OF.
Rooster, that would leave only a few teams left. Oakland would be one of them.
He’d get claimed by one of the fringe contenders in the NL. Even if they don’t really want to trade for him they will want to block their rivals from trading for him and we know the Nats aren’t just going to let Harper leave on waivers so there would be no downside to claiming him if you are, say, the San Francisco Giants.
Yeah, that’s true. Good point.
Harper is an upgrade over Pinder/Canha, if Oakland really wants to go in for the kill. Piscotty-Mancini/Laurenano-Harper is a better OF than what they currently have. Pinder and Canha aren’t playing well, they can go to the bench.
Something is happening in Oakland right now and it would be a mistake to monkey around with anything. Just look at the Dodgers record since they added Machado, great player for sure but no bump whatsoever.
Cleveland should put a claim in on Daniel Murphy. He would be a big upgrade offensively at 2ND. The front office doesn’t seem interested in upgrading though, so that won’t be happening.
The CLE FO does want an upgrade at 2B, and they’ve pursued players who would have displaced Kipnis, but the part that makes them yak into the toilet is having a $15M/year bench player. They’d trade for a rental though, but Kip will be right back out there next year to finish out his nauseating contract before the Tribe buys out 2020.
The Indians lack of moves at the deadline tell a different story. Kipnis is owed the money regardless. His contract shouldn’t prevent Cleveland from getting a rental. Brian Dozier would have been an alright choice, Daniel Murphy is an even better one, if he makes it to them on waivers.
Overrated whiff machine and clubhouse cancer.
Love it! Get him in here now so he can feel the love!!