Washington Nationals News: Could the Nats trade Lucas Giolito for Andrew Miller?

Today’s District Daily discusses the rumors involving Lucas Giolito and Andrew Miller, and more on the historic triple play the Washington Nationals turned last night.

Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

In case you missed it yesterday, the Nats’ Twitterverse was taken by a storm when reports surfaced that the Nationals would be willing to trade top prospect Lucas Giolito for Yankees left-hander Andrew Miller.

While the report is surprising, the idea of the Nationals trading one of their top-rated prospects for a game changing closer is not. The Nationals need late-inning bullpen help, and there’s no better option on the market right now than Miller.

However, it’s not clear if the report is true. Former Nats’ GM Jim Bowden later tweeted that the Nationals are not trading Giolito, regardless of the return.

Here’s what Bowden had to say, via Twitter:

Clearly, anything can happen between now and the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The Nationals have been connected to nearly every big name on the market. Every team knows what the Nationals need, and they also know the treasure chest of prospect that the Nationals have. It’ll be interesting to see what direction the team takes in the next few days.

In today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Neil Greenberg discusses why he believes the Nationals should “absolutely” trade Giolito for Miller.

Also in today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Jamal Collier has more on the historic triple play the Nationals turned in last night’s 4-1 win over the Giants.

Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.

Nationals should absolutely trade Lucas Giolito for Andrew Miller

(Neil Greenberg, Washington Post)

The Washington Nationals might make the move everyone thinks they should make and acquire Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees for one of their top prospects, possibly Lucas Giolito. The 31-year-old left-handed Miller is one of the most sought after players at the deadline, and instantly upgrades the Nationals bullpen to one that could help them win a World Series.

Miller has struck out 77 batters in 45.1 innings and has command of the strike zone rarely seen: his 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the eighth highest among relievers this past decade. He features two pitches in his repertoire, a four-seam fastball that averages better than 95 mph and a sweeping slider, which allows him to hold opposing batters to a .174 average and .521 OPS against, causing others to draw comparisons to another elite Yankees reliever, Mariano Rivera. Read full article here.

Nats slay Giant threat with historic triple play

(Jamal Collier, MLB.com)

SAN FRANCISCO — In order to escape a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the eighth inning Friday night, the Nationals pulled off a historic triple play to help seal a 4-1 victory against the Giants.

The first triple play in Nationals history started when Brandon Crawford hit a line drive off left-hander Sammy Solis. The ball was caught by Ryan Zimmerman, who stepped on first base for the second out and then fired to Anthony Rendon at third base to catch Denard Span too far down the line and end the inning. Read full article here.