What a wild win the Nationals got themselves last night in walk-off fashion to snap a six-game losing streak. You could tell during the on-field celebration the boys needed that one.

And now they have a chance to win a series here this afternoon against the Athletics, which would be another feel-good moment that is desperately needed around these parts.

The Nats turn to Mitchell Parker for this matinee series finale. The left-hander is 7-11 with a 5.35 ERA and 1.470 WHIP over his 22 starts. He really needs a strong bounceback performance after giving up eight runs on 12 hits over four innings in a loss to the Brewers his last time out.

The offense will have to deal with Jacob Lopez to start. The left-hander is 4-6 with a 3.99 ERA and 1.343 WHIP over his 17 games (13 starts) this season. But that ERA is inflated with four tough relief appearances. Over his 13 starts, Lopez is 4-5 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.304 WHIP. And he’s pitched a combined 9 ⅓ shutout innings over his last two starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ATHLETICS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

Anyone inside Nationals Park this afternoon who claimed to know what to expect from Cade Cavalli’s first major league start in nearly three years was guilty either of wishful thinking or doom-and-gloom soothsaying.

Truly, there was no way to know what would happen when the soon-to-be 27-year-old took the mound for the first time since Aug. 26, 2022, because every piece of evidence since then offered conflicting clues.

Between major elbow surgery, several setbacks in his rehab, several dominant starts and several ugly starts at Triple-A Rochester over the last three months that all added up to a 6.09 ERA, Cavalli’s road back to D.C. was anything but smooth. The Nationals gave him the ball tonight hoping for the best but acknowledging the worst was equally possible.

And then, lo and behold, the organization’s 2020 first-round pick went out there and pitched exactly as he and everyone else had long dreamed about at the sport’s highest level. With the best repertoire of pitches any of this team’s starters has displayed in some time, Cavalli tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings during what wound up a 2-1, walk-off win for the Nationals over the Athletics.

CJ Abrams’ bottom-of-the-ninth RBI single to left scored Robert Hassell III, who was aggressively waved around third by Ricky Gutierrez and slid in ahead of an off-line throw by A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom. And the Nats celebrated for the first time in a week, having snapped a six-game losing streak in dramatic fashion.

There have always been three major items Dylan Crews needs to cross off before rejoining the Nationals’ roster. First, he needs to prove his oblique strain is fully healed. Then, he needs to prove his body is back in full baseball shape, capable of handling the rigors of the daily grind. Finally, he needs to prove he’s performing well again in minor league games, having success both at the plate and in the field.

At this point, Crews appears to be fully healthy. And he’s begun to perform on the field the last few days for Triple-A Rochester. What he hasn’t done yet is play a full nine innings, which now appears to be his final hurdle.

Crews is batting second and starting in right field tonight for the Red Wings, who are playing all week in Norfolk. It’s his first appearance in the field since Sunday, when he played six innings and took four plate appearances.

Crews served as Rochester’s designated hitter Tuesday, enjoying his best offensive performance to date: 3-for-4 with an RBI single. That came on the heels of a two-hit showing Sunday that included a double and a homer.

“The last two games, it’s been awesome,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “It’s good to hear he’s getting his timing, getting some hits, a homer. Now it’s just seeing how many at-bats he’s going to get in the rehab, and we’re going to see from there.”

There haven’t been a lot of things to get excited about recently involving the Nationals, so perhaps tonight’s game provides a long-awaited reason to feel better about the state of things. Cade Cavalli makes his return to the major leagues, nearly three years removed from his one and only major league start. It’s been a long road back from Tommy John surgery and inconsistent performances in the minors, and it’s not like the 26-year-old has been in peak form at Triple-A Rochester leading up to this one. But he's here regardless, and the hope is he’s here to stay at last.

What to watch for with Cavalli: Can he get outs on pitches in or near the strike zone? One criticism of him coming up through the minors was that he relied too much on getting opposing hitters to chase out of the zone. It’s much harder to get big league hitters to do that, so Cavalli needs to be precise with his command. The good news: Even though he was giving up hits at Triple-A, he was recording a good number of strikeouts while keeping his walk total low.

The Nats would love to provide their still-rookie starter with some run support. And that doesn’t mean ninth-inning run support with the team already trailing by a bunch. Early support to give him a lead to work with. Of course, at some point Miguel Cairo is still going to have to hand over the rest of the game to this bullpen. Who knows how that’s going to go?

ATHLETICS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

ATHLETICS
C Shea Langeliers
1B Nick Kurtz
DH Brent Rooker
RF JJ Bleday
LF Tyler Soderstrom
SS Darell Hernaiz
CF Lawrence Butler
3B Gio Urshela
2B Max Schuemann

Cade Cavalli’s major league debut was a major moment for a Nationals organization in need of something positive at the time. When they called up their 2020 first round pick on Aug. 26, 2022, they were reeling from the Juan Soto trade earlier that month and needed to showcase as many pieces of the club’s long-term plan as possible.

Who could have imagined it would take almost three years for the Nats to hand Cavalli the ball again in a big league game?

A minor shoulder ailment sidelined the right-hander the rest of the 2022 season after his shaky debut. He was poised to make the Opening Day rotation the following spring but then blew out his elbow in a mid-March start against the Mets, requiring Tommy John surgery. And he has spent every day since trying to make it back to the majors.

It finally happens tonight, with the Nationals planning to recall Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester, a move interim manager Miguel Cairo confirmed following Tuesday night’s loss. (Reliever Andry Lara was optioned to Rochester to clear a roster spot for him.)

It took Cavalli longer than hoped to fully recover from elbow ligament replacement surgery, but he’s been deemed healthy for several months now. Team officials were looking for a reason to promote him, but the right-hander couldn’t string together enough quality starts together to make it a no-brainer decision.

As the hits kept on coming, one after another, MacKenzie Gore stood on the mound with a look on his face that suggested anger, frustration and bewilderment all wrapped up in one.

The Nationals ace, an All-Star just a few weeks ago, the majors’ strikeout leader just a month ago, had faced six Athletics batters to open tonight’s game. Five of them had scored, all five of them having recorded base hits, two of them home runs.

Before having a chance to come up to bat themselves, the Nats already were well on their way to a 16-7 loss, yet another in a string of unsightly, lopsided August losses that have somehow made the disasters that were June and July look tame in comparison.

The Nationals have lost six in a row, the combined score of those games a jaw-dropping 70-26. They've lost the first four games of this homestand 54-20, and that doesn't tell the full story because 11 of the runs they've scored have come in the ninth inning of games that were already well out of hand.

"This is embarrassing," Gore said. "We shouldn't just try to act like nothing happened here. What has happened this homestand is not acceptable, no matter what happened last week. We're all better than this. This is embarrassing. We've got to not let it affect everybody. We've got to be able to come together as a group and get better. What happened this homestand, it's hard to watch."

The revolving door that has been the 2025 Nationals bullpen picked up two new passengers today when the club added Clayton Beeter and PJ Poulin to the major league roster, two recent acquisitions who are going to get a chance to contribute to a relief corps that needs all the help it can get.

After trading veterans Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia prior to last week’s deadline, the Nats were left with a highly inexperienced bullpen with only one member who had pitched in more than 45 big league games in his career (Jose A. Ferrer). That group was promptly battered around by the Brewers, surrendering 22 runs (19 earned) on 30 hits and nine walks across 14 1/3 innings during their weekend sweep, leading to the demotions of Ryan Loutos and Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Rochester.

Enter Beeter (one of two prospects acquired from the Yankees for Amed Rosario) and Poulin (claimed off waivers from the Tigers on Sunday).

“I believe we need a lefty, and we just claimed (Poulin) off waivers,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “Beeter, he throws hard, good slider. And I’m looking forward to seeing how he matches up with big league hitters.”

Beeter, 26, has a little bit of major league experience, appearing in five games for the Yankees across the last two seasons. A second-round pick in 2020 from Texas Tech, he spent most of his minor league career as a starter before moving to the bullpen this season. In 18 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after time on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, he produced a 3.10 ERA, striking out 33 batters in only 20 1/3 innings (albeit with 16 walks issued in that same time frame).

The Nationals’ weekend series against the Brewers could not have gone any worse. Perhaps the arrival of the homeless Athletics this week will help turn things around. The A’s – who are playing in Sacramento for three seasons but are officially not allowed to be called by any city name for reasons unclear – come to town playing decent baseball, having gone 14-13 since July 1. And they’ve got one of the hottest hitters in baseball in rookie Nick Kurtz (1.420 OPS over his last 25 games).

So this is no cakewalk for MacKenzie Gore, who needs a bounceback performance after three straight shaky starts that included either six runs allowed or six batters walked. The left-hander has seen his ERA jump to 3.80, and his strikeout rate is down as well. Now that the tension of the trade deadline is behind him, the lefty needs to get himself locked in and finish out the season strong before it falls apart on him.

The Nationals have a couple of new arms in the bullpen tonight: They officially called up right-hander Clayton Beeter and left-hander PJ Poulin, optioning both Ryan Loutos and Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Rochester. Don’t be surprised if one or both of the new guys is used in a high-leverage spot tonight if the situation arises.

ATHLETICS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

ATHLETICS
C Shea Langeliers
1B Nick Kurtz
DH Brent Rooker
CF JJ Bleday
RF Colby Thomas
SS Darell Hernaiz
LF Tyler Soderstrom
3B Gio Urshela
2B Max Schuemann

On the (admittedly short) list of things to look forward to over the remainder of the Nationals’ season, the return of Dylan Crews from the injured list and the return of Cade Cavalli to the major leagues have to rank right near the top.

It’s been a frustrating summer for both former first round picks, both of them sidelined longer than initially hoped. And in both cases, the delay in rejoining the Nats’ big league roster has been cause for consternation.

Crews, who suffered a left oblique strain way back on May 20, does appear to be close to coming off the 60-day IL at long last. But he’s not quite there yet.

The 23-year-old outfielder began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester one week ago, and by all accounts things have gone well for him since. He has played in five games (four as the Red Wings’ right fielder, one as their DH) and he’s gone 3-for-13 with a double, a homer, four RBIs, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, three strikeouts and a stolen base. The homer and the double both came in his most recent game Sunday in Charlotte.

The issue: Crews hasn’t played more than six innings in a game yet, so he hasn’t fully built himself back up to full game-shape yet. We should learn more today about his next steps, but it would make sense for him to continue playing for Rochester (which opens a series tonight at Norfolk) for at least a few more days. Then the Nationals would have to decide if he’s ready to join them on their next trip to San Francisco and Kansas City, or if he still needs more time.

It’s been a constant source of frustration throughout the season. No matter how poorly they’ve pitched, the Nationals have often had little choice but to stick with the staff they’ve got because of a lack of viable alternatives knocking on the door in the minors.

There have been a few moments along the way when the organization has made roster changes, from the early-season cutting of ties with struggling veterans Jorge López, Lucas Sims and Colin Poche, to the in-season additions of Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia and Konnor Pilkington. But transactions have mostly been limited, because there simply haven’t been enough minor league pitchers worthy of promotion.

That’s what made this weekend’s lopsided sweep at the hands of the Brewers feel all the more hopeless. After interim general manager Mike DeBartolo traded Chafin, Luis Garcia and Kyle Finnegan prior to Thursday’s deadline, the bullpen that remained was beaten to a pulp by Milwaukee, combining to surrender 22 runs in only 14 1/3 innings over the last three days.

What recourse does DeBartolo even have at this point?

The Nationals did make one move following Sunday’s 14-3 loss, optioning right-hander Ryan Loutos (owner of a 12.00 ERA in 10 big league games with the club) to Triple-A Rochester. That still leaves six relievers on the active staff with an ERA over 5.00: Jose A. Ferrer, Orlando Ribalta, Andry Lara, Jackson Rutledge, Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Zach Brzykcy. The only two exceptions: Pilkington (1.42 ERA in seven games) and Cole Henry (3.86 ERA in 42 games).

The fear when the Nationals traded away their three most reliable relievers before Thursday’s deadline was what would remain in the bullpen for the final two months of an already-lost 2025 season. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo was willing to take that chance, recognizing Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia weren’t going to be a part of the team’s 2026 roster, so he might as well get what he could for the three veterans now.

Those fears, though, were fully realized this weekend when the remnants of the Nats bullpen met the full extent of the Brewers lineup. It wasn’t pretty.

Today’s 14-3 thumping was merely the final blow in a series of blowouts. In getting swept by the team with the National League’s best record, the Nationals were outscored 38-14.

And the Nats weren’t just swept by the Brewers this weekend. They were swept in the season series, outscored 60-23 in six games that more than proved the chasm that currently exists between these two teams.

"That's what a winning team looks like," interim manager Miguel Cairo said of a Milwaukee club that's now 67-44. "They beat us, simple as that."

Miguel Cairo had already assembled his lineup for today’s series finale against the Brewers before learning Jacob Misiorowski was going on the 15-day injured list with a bruised left shin, forcing a change of pitching plans by Milwaukee.

Cairo’s response: No changes to his Nationals lineup. He already had a lefty-heavy group ready to go against Misiorowski, and he felt that same look would work just as well against replacement Logan Henderson.

That lineup had James Wood serving as designated hitter all along, and it also had Nathaniel Lowe on the bench, giving Josh Bell a rare opportunity to play first base.

“I want to give Wood a little break from the outfield and DH him,” Cairo explained. “J.B., it’s been a while since he played first. I want to give him some action at first base, too.”

This is among the dilemmas now confronting Cairo and the Nationals over the season’s final two months. Bell wasn’t among the veterans on expiring contracts dealt at Thursday’s trade deadline. He remains on the roster. And even though there are a number of younger players seeking major league experience, Bell (who has a robust .852 OPS over his last 49 games) is still going to get regular playing time.

The Nationals thought they were going to be trying to avoid not only a series sweep but a season sweep at the hands of the Brewers this afternoon by facing rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski. Turns out they won’t be facing Misiorowski, who was just placed on the 15-day injured list with a left tibia contusion (he was struck in the leg by a comebacker in his last outing). But before you get too excited, the replacement for The Miz is Logan Henderson, another rookie right-hander who in his first four career starts earlier this season went 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA, 29 strikeouts and only six walks. (Amazing what a difference organizational pitching depth can make, huh?)

So, the Nats still have their work cut out for them to produce offense today. They were held to two hits by Brandon Woodruff and the Brewers bullpen during Saturday’s 8-2 loss. That’s obviously not going to cut it today.

On the bright side, Brad Lord gets the ball for the home team, and that’s something to look forward to. The rookie right-hander has looked really good in his first two starts since returning from the bullpen a few weeks ago, allowing two runs over 9 1/3 innings (and throwing only 109 pitches in the process). He’ll be trying to build up to about 70-75 pitches today, so that could allow him to provide some length as well for a Nationals staff that could use it.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 81 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

BREWERS
2B Brice Turang
C William Contreras
1B Andrew Vaughn
DH Christian Yelich
LF Isaac Collins
CF Blake Perkins
3B Anthony Seigler
RF Brandon Lockridge
SS Joey Ortiz

No matter if and when the Nationals' offense showed up today against the Brewers, the pitching simply needed to be better.

After allowing 16 runs and giving up a club-record 25 hits in Friday’s series-opening loss, the collective effort on the mound had to drastically improve for the home team or else they again would have no shot to beat the team with the best record in baseball.

Leading that charge on the hill was Jake Irvin, who was looking to follow up his strong outing his last time out in his home state of Minnesota. But the right-hander surrendered an early lead en route to another short outing in the Nats’ 8-2 loss in front of 28,869 fans on South Capitol Street.

Before he tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball against the Twins, Irvin turned in his shortest start of the season against the Reds, giving up five runs in just 3 ⅔ innings on 72 pitches. He just barely eclipsed that Saturday afternoon.

The Brewers were all over Irvin from the jump, their lineup filled with lefties and switch-hitters who were easily pulling his pitches into right field. They ended up scoring in each of the first three frames to put the Nats in an early hole.

Keibert Ruiz walked around the Nationals' clubhouse with his usual big smile. He then had a playful interaction with CJ Abrams walking from his locker to the kitchen. All seemed normal.

Except life is still not normal for the 27-year-old catcher, who continues to experience symptoms from a concussion that has placed him on the injured list twice since June 24 and most recently since July 8.

“I feel much better than a couple weeks ago,” Ruiz said at his locker before today’s game against the Brewers. “And I'm just following the protocol. I gotta get used to noises and I'm sensitive. ... I'm doing a little bit more every day, like working out and all that stuff.”

Ruiz missed 10 days during his first IL stint after he was hit in the head by a ricocheting foul ball in the visitors’ dugout in San Diego. In just his second game back, he was struck in the facemask by two foul balls, which brought back the concussion symptoms.

The Nats chose to place him back on the IL the following day with the same concussion that had been reaggravated. Since then, Ruiz has barely been around the team, not traveling with them on road trips and not coming around the home clubhouse while trying to get his sensitivity to light and noises down.

The Nationals offense waited too long to get going last night against the Brewers, scoring seven of their eight runs over the last four innings. But it doesn’t matter when the offense produces if the Nats don’t get better pitching.

Mitchell Parker gave up eight runs on 12 hits in four-plus innings Friday night, as four relievers joined him in combining to surrender 16 runs and a club-record 25 hits. They really only can improve from there.

Jake Irvin will be tasked with leading the charge. The right-hander is 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in 22 starts. And he’s coming off an impressive outing in his hometown against the Twins, in which he tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball. Irvin faced the Brew Crew in Milwaukee in the last game before the All-Star break, giving up three unearned runs with five strikeouts in five frames.

Opposing him is Brandon Woodruff, the veteran right-hander who also faced the Nats right before the break. The 32-year-old is 2-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 0.716 WHIP in his four starts since returning from injury. When he faced Washington three weeks ago, he gave up two solo home runs to rookies Daylen Lile and Brady House but struck out 10 in 4 ⅓ innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

The post-trade-deadline portion of the 2025 Nationals season began tonight with a dud that neither offered much new hope for an August bounceback nor answered one of the great unknown questions now confronting this team: Who’s the closer now?

Interim manager Miguel Cairo chose to keep that information private when asked this afternoon, promising we’ll all find out together the next time the Nats take a lead into the ninth inning. It certainly didn’t happen tonight during a 16-9 thumping at the hands of the Brewers that felt like it was decided by the middle of the third, with the home team scoring five runs in the ninth to make it look a bit closer.

Mitchell Parker was battered around by the same Milwaukee lineup that put a hurting on him earlier this month at American Family Field, the left-hander charged with eight runs on 12 hits in four-plus innings.

That left the remnants of a Nationals bullpen that lost its three most reliable arms in the last 48 hours to cobble together five innings before this game could be completed. The four relievers who pitched tonight collectively gave up eight runs of their own to turn this one into a complete laugher (aside from those in the crowd of 25,194 who booed during the later innings).

The 25 hits allowed by the Nats shattered the previous club record of 22, set on five different occasions over the last two decades.

The Nationals filled the four roster holes that opened up over the final 36 hours leading into the trade deadline with four players from Triple-A who already were on the organization’s 40-man roster.

The Nats recalled outfielder Robert Hassell III, left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara and right-handers Orlando Ribalta and Ryan Loutos from Rochester, adding all four to the active roster before tonight’s series opener against the Brewers.

Hassell replaces Alex Call, who was traded to the Dodgers on Thursday for two minor league pitchers. The 23-year-old (a key acquisition in the 2022 blockbuster Juan Soto deal) makes his second big league stint after batting .218 with one homer, eight RBIs and a .497 OPS in 21 games in late May and early June. He returned to form once back at Triple-A, batting .336 with six homers, 25 RBIs and a .954 OPS in 33 games.

“Everything worked well for me,” he said of his recent performance. “I’m happy to be back.”

Hassell joins an already crowded Nationals outfield that currently features James Wood, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile and should get Dylan Crews back soon. (Crews, who made his rehab debut with Rochester on Tuesday, is off tonight but is scheduled to play six innings for the Red Wings both Saturday and Sunday as he gets back into shape more than two months after suffering an oblique strain.)

The Nationals who take the field tonight against the Brewers are going to look quite different from the Nationals who last took the field here more than a week ago. Six players were traded prior to the July 31 deadline, including arguably their three most reliable relievers. What remains is going to have to exceed expectations over the season’s final two months to avoid a complete collapse.

And the initial challenge is about as tough as it’s going to get, with the best-in-baseball Brewers in town this weekend. The Nats already were swept earlier this month in Milwaukee. They’ll hope for better results this time around, with Mitchell Parker on the mound for the series opener. Parker was roughed up by the Brewers last time, giving up seven runs (six of them coming in the third inning alone).

A Nationals lineup that actually remains intact – only bench players Amed Rosario and Alex Call wound up getting dealt – will try to get something going against Milwaukee starter Jose Quintana. The veteran lefty is doing what he always does, owner of a 3.50 ERA and 1.336 WHIP in 15 starts to date. He’s not flashy, but he gets the job done.

Reminder: Tonight’s game is only on Apple TV+. It’ll be Alex Faust, Ryan Spilborghs and Tricia Whitaker on the call.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Apple TV+
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center field

After a frantic final 48 hours, the dust has settled and the trade deadline has passed. The Nationals had their most active late-July since 2021, with interim general manager Mike DeBartolo making five deals involving six veterans traded away for 10 prospects in return. They didn’t make any earth-shattering moves, but swap out a sizeable group of players who didn’t figure into the club’s long-term plans for a larger group of young players who could some day.

Now, what’s left after all that? A host of questions that still need answering. Which we’ll attempt to do right here in our morning-after explainer …

WHY DIDN’T THEY TRADE JOSH BELL OR PAUL DEJONG?
Because, quite frankly, there weren’t any takers. DeBartolo said he attempted to make deals that would have given both veterans an opportunity to play on contenders before becoming free agents, but “ultimately nothing came together.” So while the five other vets on expiring contracts (Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Amed Rosario, Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia) did get traded, Bell and DeJong did not and remain with the club as the calendar shifts to August.

HOW SERIOUS WERE THEY ABOUT TRADING MACKENZIE GORE?
Obviously, not serious enough to actually pull the trigger on what would’ve been the team’s biggest deadline deal since the blockbuster that brough Gore to D.C. in the first place three years ago. DeBartolo said two weeks ago he would listen to any offers that came his way from other clubs, but he viewed the 26-year-old lefty as a key part of their core group of young players they’re ultimately trying to win with. And he stayed true to his word. Though there were calls from a number of interested parties, none was willing to meet the exceptionally high price DeBartolo established for his ace. So Gore remains a National.

DID ALEX CALL REALLY FETCH THE BEST PROSPECT RETURN OF ANYONE?
Based on MLB Pipeline’s rankings, yes. The two players the Dodgers sent in exchange for Call (right-handers Sean Paul Liñan and Eriq Swan) now rate as the Nationals’ 10th and 12th best prospects, with the two players they acquired from the Cubs for Soroka (outfielder Christian Franklin, shortstop Ronny Cruz) each one notch below in spots No. 11 and 13. How did that happen? Well, DeBartolo sold high on Call, who over the last two seasons produced a solid .297/.388/.432 slash line across 350 plate appearances in a part-time role. He also comes with a whopping four remaining years of club control and two minor league options as well. That’s probably why L.A. was willing to give up a couple of decent prospects in return.