After finally snapping out of their losing ways following a dramatic walk-off win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, the Washington Nationals quickly reverted back to their losing ways with a tough 6-5 loss in Los Angeles on Friday night. To give the Nationals credit, they are facing off against the most stacked lineup in the league, and the team actually showed some fight, getting the tying run to the batter's box in the 9th inning against Dodgers closer Tanner Scott.
However, to say that things are back to normal for a club that lost 11 straight games would a conclusion that seems to early to jump to, although last night's effort was encouraging. The fact that the team was able to overcome a subpar start from MacKenzie Gore, who allowed 6 runs with 5 of them being earned, in order to fight back was at least somewhat of a positive sign.
Positivity has been hard to locate on this Nationals team as of recent, as outside of the big bright spots like CJ Abrams, Gore, and likely All-Star Wood the rest of the team has been fairly inconsistent, which is a large reason why the team is looking like they will be sellers again at the trade deadline this year. With that being said, time appears to be running out for this Nationals duo, who likely won't garner much trade value.
Jacob Young
This one appears obvious, as it seems as if the clock might soon be striking midnight on Jacob Young's tenure on the big league roster. The outfielder has just a .607 OPS this season, and has been abysmal on the basepaths, which used to be one of his strong suits. After being nabbed trying to steal a base in Thursday's win, his success rate on steal attempts now sits at just 41.67%, which is unacceptable for a guy who brings almost zero value offensively if he's not able to run the bases well.
Young's bat is a net negative in the bottom of the lineup, and with Robert Hassell III back to raking at AAA Rochester and Dylan Crews seemingly coming back in the next couple of weeks, Young won't have a place to earn consistent playing time moving forward. His trade value isn't likely to be anything great, although I'm sure the team would love to see if they could get some legitimate value from him at the deadline.
Moving on from Young, whether via trade or by demotion seems to be likely, as his great defense in center field is only so valuable when the Nationals' offense continues to be in a prolonged funk. He is not a long-term fit in the team's outfield plans, and you can't continue to give him consistent reps over the other crop of young outfielders with higher upside in Crews, Hassell III, and Daylen Lile alongside James Wood.
Riley Adams
Yes, I know he homered last night, but before that, backup catcher Riley Adams hadn't recorded a base hit since May 6th, just let that sink in. While he has certainly not been done any favors by Manager Dave Martinez, who continues to give starting catcher Keibert Ruiz way too much playing time, at this point, we know what Adams brings to the table.
He brings average defense, a bat with a lot of pop, but a guy who isn't good enough to be a starter at the big league level. Given his paltry .103/.133/.276 slash line and .409 OPS, he won't command any sort of return at the trade deadline, meaning the team can safely move on from him basically at any time.
Drew Millas, a former Nationals prospect, is absolutely raking this month down in Rochester, and prevents a much greater upside at the catcher position for the Nationals given he's a switch-hitter with a lot more athleticism than the average backstop. He hasn't been given a ton of opportunities at the big league level yet, but the Nationals desperately need to change something with their backstop duo that ranks dead last in the league by a wide margin when it comes to WAR.
When do you think the Nationals will make a roster move with these players? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.