Washington Nationals: Five more players who could be traded in August
By Blake Finney
Mark Reynolds – First Baseman
Potential Fits: Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees
The first player that we look at is Mark Reynolds. He’s had a Cinderella story with the Washington Nationals this season. But with the team selling, he would make a good bench bat for a contender.
He was one of the players put on waivers as reported by Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. It’s unclear whether he cleared waivers or not, but if he has, then he’s free to be traded to any team.
So far this season, Reynolds is hitting .257 and has posted an impressive 11 home runs in just 171 plate appearances. With those stats, he’ll at least peak the interest of some teams if the Nats cover most of the salary.
He’ll arguably hold the least value of the players in this list, given his track record of a powerful but strikeout-prone player. He can also only really play one position at this point in his career, that being first base.
An American League team would probably be a better fit for Reynolds so he can slide in at DH every now and again.
The Yankees seem like the best fit right now, as their first base depth appears pretty thin. While they have Greg Bird as a lefty option, Neil Walker and Luke Voit have been attempting to fill in on the right side of the platoon.
The A’s do have Matt Olson as their primary first baseman, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. But he has played the outfield before, so could shift there on occasion to get Reynolds a start, or bench him against a tough lefty.
The primary value of Mark Reynolds, however, will come as an experienced head off the bench. In the postseason, having someone who’s been there and done that and can change the game by launching a long ball is invaluable.
UPDATE 8/23: Jon Heyman of FanCred Sports reported that Reynolds was claimed on waivers by the Atlanta Braves. After no deal was agreed, the Nats pulled him back, and therefore can no longer trade him.