Nats face potentially busy week as trade deadline approaches

MINNEAPOLIS – The Nationals departed the Twin Cities after Sunday’s victory with a roster that experienced only one change over the course of the weekend, with Jose Tena replacing the traded Amed Rosario.

By the time the team departs Houston following Wednesday’s game, there’s a decent chance that roster will have undergone even more change.

With Major League Baseball’s trade deadline now fast approaching, we’ve reached that point in the season where anything and everything can happen, and usually does. Though the deadline doesn’t arrive until 6 p.m. Eastern Thursday (an off-day for the Nationals), plenty of deals will be consummated these next three days as teams look to get a jump on the process and add key players for a few extra games.

We’ve known for a while the Nats were going to be active. Once they endured through a miserable 7-19 month of June, and certainly once ownership made the decision July 6 to fire general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, it became clear they would once again be deadline sellers and not buyers for the fifth consecutive year.

Some of these recent deadline periods have included only a handful of trade candidates. This one, though, includes a bunch, because the Nationals entered the weekend with seven veteran players on expiring contracts: Rosario, designated hitter Josh Bell, infielder Paul DeJong, starter Michael Soroka and relievers Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia. Rosario was dealt to the Yankees late Saturday night for a pair of prospects. The others all have a good chance of being dealt at some point over the next 82 hours.

Interim GM Mike DeBartolo certainly will be calling other teams to gauge interest in all of those players. Whether there is ultimately enough interest in all to complete trades remains to be seen.

Bell has probably helped his case to be dealt thanks to a long-awaited surge at the plate. After another strong day at the plate Sunday, he’s now batting .348 in July with a .434 on-base percentage and .949 OPS. Chafin (2.33 ERA in 25 games) and Garcia (1.00 ERA in nine games) also have performed well since each was acquired by the Nats in-season, and each has a lengthy track record that could make them appealing to contenders.

Finnegan, on the other hand, has probably hurt his cause with a difficult July. In 12 appearances this month, he’s got a 12.86 ERA and 2.00 WHIP, with only one save in only two attempts. Soroka (3-8, 4.85 ERA) could be appealing to a team that believes his peripheral stats (1.13 WHIP, 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings) suggest he’s been better than he’s looked. DeJong hasn’t played much since returning from a fractured nose but has a strong reputation in the field and still provides some pop at the plate.

There’s no reason for DeBartolo not to send out feelers on all six of those remaining players due to become free agents at season’s end. The more compelling question is whether he’s sending out feelers on any players who remain under club control beyond 2025.

Rizzo acquired Nathaniel Lowe from the Rangers for Robert Garcia last winter with the intention of keeping the first baseman for two years. But Lowe, despite 15 homers and 62 RBIs, sports a .679 OPS and hasn’t lived up to his Gold Glove reputation at first base (where he’s accrued minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved). With Lowe due to make $13 million to $14 million in arbitration next winter, would DeBartolo look to move him now and try to get something of value in return?

Luis Garcia Jr. still has two more years of club control beyond 2025, but the 25-year-old second baseman remains something of an enigma. His .705 OPS is slightly above average for his position (the MLB mark at second base is .680) but his minus-15 DRS ranks second-worst in the major leagues at any position. If DeBartolo doesn’t view Garcia as part of the long-term plan, would he consider dealing him now?

And then there’s the biggest dilemma of all: MacKenzie Gore. One of three All-Stars acquired from the Padres in the Juan Soto blockbuster only three years ago, he now finds himself at the same point in his career as Soto was then, with 2 1/3 years of club control remaining. The left-hander has developed into the Nationals’ ace, and they’re thrilled about that. But if DeBartolo isn’t confident this team is going to be ready to win before Gore can become a free agent after the 2027 season, he may have to at least listen to any offers he receives from other clubs.