MLBTR's new team-by-team deadline preview series (available to Front Office subscribers) continues with a look at the Nationals, who are on pace for their sixth consecutive losing season. The Nats were hanging in there with a 28-30 record at May's end, but an 11-game losing streak led to a brutal 7-19 record in June, all but officially ending Washington's hopes of an end to its lengthy rebuild process. While the team's few cornerstone players are breaking out, pretty much the rest of the roster has underachieved, leaving president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo selling once more heading into the July 31 deadline.
Record: 35-50 (0.1% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)
Sell Mode
Impending free agents: Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Josh Bell, Amed Rosario, Andrew Chafin, Paul DeJong, Derek Law
Finnegan was an All-Star in 2024 and drew attention at last year's trade deadline, though he somewhat surprisingly ended up staying put. It could be that the Nationals had too high an asking price, or teams had doubts about Finnegan's shaky advanced metrics, or perhaps a combination of both factors ended up keeping Finnegan in the District for the remainder of 2024. As it happened, Finnegan's performance went south in the second half, and the Nats cut him last winter by non-tendering the reliever instead of a projected $8.6MM arbitration salary. However, the club shaved some cash off that number by then re-signing Finnegan to a one-year, $6MM deal (with $4MM in deferrals).
Now in his sixth season in D.C., Finnegan has again been pretty solid at the back of the Nats' pen, securing 18 of 23 save opportunities and posting a 2.61 ERA over 31 innings. Finnegan doesn't fit the typical closer model with his below-average strikeout rates, and while his 96.1mph fastball velocity this season is still impressive, it is also notably slower than his 97.2mph average velo from 2024. On the plus side, Finnegan's hard-hit ball rate is a strong 37.1% --- a massive turn-around considering few pitchers in the entire sport allowed more hard contact than he did over the 2022-24 seasons.
Washington will surely get more calls about Finnegan this July, and the Nationals may feel more compelled to swing a deal with him just a few months removed from free agency. It isn't a reach to view Finnegan as a fit on almost any roster, given his low remaining salary, how many contenders need bullpen help, and his experience in high-leverage situations. The Cubs reportedly had interest in Finnegan this past winter and the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers were all linked to Finnegan's market prior to last season's trade deadline, so these teams in particular stand out as potential candidates.
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This organization is a joke. Abysmal player development since the early 2010s and zero progress at the major league level. Worst bullpen, worst catching situation, one of the worst rotations in the sport. Abrams is a star, Gore is an ace, and Wood is a generational talent. The Nats have failed to build around them and the entire coaching staff and front office needs to go
Their rebuild has been going fine so far but eventually they have to stop trading their players at some point.
“This organization is a joke..Abysmal player development”..So, Trea Turner, C.J Abrahms, Jordan Zimmerman, Drew Storen, Steven Strasburg, Ian Desmond, Anthony Rendon, Bryce Harper, James Wood, Ryan Zimmerman, Juan Soto and Mackenzie Gore don’t count?
All these guys were drafted and developed by the Washington Nats and went onto notable careers. And you do realize they won a World Series well after the 2010’s, right?
I wouldn’t count Gore or Abrams (both were in the majors). A chunk of Turner’s development was in SD. Strasburg was major league ready when he arrived. I will give you some of the others. Player development has not been a hallmark of this organization. Green is already a bust, as an example. Jury is out on Crews, House and Cavalli(anything you get from him is gravy), but the early returns are…eh.
Turner, Abrams, Gore, and Wood were not drafted by Washington. Neither was Soto(international signing), but he was developed, brief as it was, by Washington. I get that we are splitting hairs, though.
International signings count as international scouting/development.
How can you fail to see trading Steven Souza & future Montgomery Biscuits hurler Travis Ott for Joe Ross & Trea Turner was a great personnel move?
By your metric, the Nats should get credit for developing Robbie Ray and Tommy Milone.
To claim Green, at age 21, is a “bust” is silly.
You’re not even trying to be fair.
One thing showing how well they handle personnel is the number of guys they let go who were never as good after they left: Morse, Zimmermann, Roark, Storen, Clippard, Gio, Span, Rendon, LaRoche, Bernadina, Lannan, Murphy and Lane.
To put together the greatest run in D.C. baseball history followed by a normal rebuild is something to be grateful for.
Abrams, Wood, and Gore were not drafted and developed by the Nats. They all came in the Soto deal, I believe.
The Nats got Abrams, Wood, Gore, Hassell, Susana and Voit.in exchange for Soto and Bell.
A trade like that is certainly good player development. Abrams and Gore played right away and the team has developed Wood, Hassell and Susana in the minors.
Before Rizzo went all in with the rebuild, our future rested on the shoulders of Rutledge, Cavalli and Kieboom.
Now our pantry is stocked with House, Hassell, Lile, Sykora, Susana, King, Yoyo and Clemmey percolating upward, plus this year’s number one overall pick.
That’s good player development.
So what? Nats mgmt and ownership blew it and out went all the players you named ! Only 1 WS team and they wouldn’t even keep that core!
I’ve followed NATS since they came back & it’s been a mess. So we buy t-shirt/jersey w “stars” number & a few seasons they are gone…Zim, Stras,Trea, Max, Harper, Soto, …kids closet full.
Enough… trade Gore now to a contender, he’ll win a cy young !
“A few seasons”?
We had Zim 16 seasons.
We had Stras 13 seasons.
We had Trea 6-1/2 seasons,
We had Harper 7 seasons.
We had Max 6-1/2 seasons.
Think you should do a little research before posting.
They seem to do a good job at acquiring players and mostly good at developing them, but the results still aren’t there. About time to start supplementing these guys with a star player two or honestly just spend money on their horrific bullpen. They are the rare team that is worse than the sum of their parts. Which sucks because Rizzo is one of my favorite gm’s.
Rizzo is at minimum a competent GM. His biggest weakness is drafting but we can’t deny the fact the 2010 decade was the best in Nats franchise history.
He has not done very well in hiring managers. At least two were duds. Am thinking of Johnnie baker and Matt Williams.
When the Nationals used to spend, the old man was trying to win a World Series before he passed(which they did). The family has not shown evidence that they are willing to, yet.
It’s been one year of Gore Abrams and Wood….chilllll
I enjoy watching Gore-Abrams-Wood-Crews-Hassell-Lile-Lord-Henry-and House play this year…
Any team that rates Robles higher than Soto has an issue. Drew has been a dud for a number 2 round one pick.
That’s not really fair. Robles was a top 5 prospect in the entire sport when he was coming up.
Sometime in the next 6 or 7 months, Mike Rizzo is going to surprise everyone by trading for a bona fide star,
I am thinking something along the lines of – – Crews, Nunes, Susana plus another guy from the group of Tena, Pinkney, Lara, Bennett, Made, Stuart or Ferrer – –
– – for Paul Skenes.
I think Rizzo will essentially replicate the trade for Gio Gonzalez that, coupled with the Werth signing and drafting of Harper, propelled the Nats on an 8-year run of the best baseball ever seen in the nation’s capital..
As always with Mike Rizzo, the move will catch everyone by surprise.
A trade like my example would help the Pirates – they would use Skenes in a Soto-like deal.
In return, they’ll get a star, another big, strong, young arm, a shortstop, plus another solid prospect to help in their rebuild.
I’d rather not trade Seaver King, but if the Pirates had to have him with Crews, Susana and Nunes, then, yeah, pull the trigger to get Skenes,