The trading deadline is upon us and Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo should be on the horn looking to unload players.
If the Washington Nationals entered the weekend as buyers, as word around the league is they did, getting dismantled in two out of three games by the worst team in the American League should change their minds.
The Nationals are unable to win at home. They are unable to win on the road. They are unable to play solid defense and they are unable to come up with a big hit when they need it. Trea Turner broke a franchise record for most hits in a three game series over the weekend, yet his teammates were unable to push him across the plate on most occasions.
Entering the season, the starting pitching staff was highly regarded and supposed to be one of the best in the league. With Stephen Strasburg currently on the injured list, and the inexperience of Austin Voth and Erick Fedde being exposed, the pitching is actually the weakness on the team.
Word broke yesterday the Nationals had taken calls on a trio of pending free agents, though were not likely to get involved in selling off pieces.
The World Champion Nats are in last place but they are just 2 1/2 games out of a tie for the 8th playoff spot and there’s no inclination to sell. It’s not something they do, not in their DNA. If they do anything, it’ll be buy.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 30, 2020
Yes, half the league will make the playoffs. Yes, all a team has to do is get in and get hot, to make a run. The Nationals know this all to well, they got hot towards the end of the 2019 regular season and parlayed that into a World Series Championship.
The 2020 version of the Nationals is not like the 2019 version though. With a starting rotation in shambles, and a lack of production from certain parts of the lineup, there is no quick fix out there to enable to let the Nats make a run.
If history tells us anything, the Lerner Group doesn’t like to spend money this time of year. Great. Let them recoup some. As much as I cherish some of the players and would love to see the band stay together and try to sneak into the playoffs, the right decision is to sell.
Sell now, and sell often.