The Nationals didn’t hold back at this year’s trade deadline. Interim GM Mike DeBartolo made it clear that the rebuild remains in full swing, flipping veterans Amed Rosario, Luis García, Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin, Michael Soroka, and Alex Call for a wave of young talent. It marked one of the busiest deadlines in recent memory for Washington, but not everyone who was expected to move actually did.
Josh Bell, MacKenzie Gore, and Nathaniel Lowe stayed put despite the trade buzz around them leading up to the deadline. Whether due to performance trends, contract situations, limited market interest, or in Gore’s case, a mix of strong demand and the team’s reluctance to move a young arm without the right return, each made it through the July 31 chaos. But that doesn’t ensure they’re part of the Nationals’ long-term plans.
Each of these players could still be on the move in the near future. As Washington looks to reshape its roster heading into 2026, Bell, Gore, and Lowe are three names to watch. Here's a breakdown of how they made it through the deadline, what their current situations look like, and why they could very well be wearing different jerseys on Opening Day next season.
Josh Bell
The Nationals brought Josh Bell back on a one-year, $6 million deal this offseason, with a simple plan: add a veteran switch-hitter with some pop who could mentor the younger guys and possibly turn into a trade chip by July. For a while, it looked like neither one of those things was materializing.
Bell got off to a brutal start. His average dipped below .150 early in the year, and his OPS flirted with .500 deep into May. For a rebuilding team, carrying a struggling veteran DH made little sense. Many fans were already calling for the Nationals to move on from Bell altogether.
But then Bell caught fire. Over his final 49 games before the deadline, he slashed .297/.381/.471 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI. During that stretch, his OPS reached nearly .870, and by mid-July, he was hitting over .300 across his last 30 games.
The surge sufficed to pull his season OPS above .700, a big turnaround considering how rough his start had been. Despite still batting just .229 overall, Bell now sits at 14 home runs, 41 RBI, and a .718 OPS, which actually tops Nathaniel Lowe’s .216 average and .657 OPS. A full-on resurgence, it looked like Bell had played his way into becoming a legit rental target for contenders.
Still, the Nationals didn’t move him. Despite being one of the team’s hottest hitters entering the deadline, there didn’t seem to be much traction on the trade market. It marked the first time since 2021 that Bell stayed put at the deadline, a decision that confused plenty of Nats fans.
His rough start likely tanked most of the league’s interest, and even with his hot streak, his overall season numbers still remained close to league average. That said, Bell’s plate discipline and hard-hit metrics quietly improved, which showed the underlying skills were still there.
Even though he stayed through the deadline, it's hard to imagine Bell in Washington past this season. He’ll be a free agent this winter, and with the Nationals in a deep rebuild and younger players like Yohandy Morales on the rise, there’s no reason to bring him back. Given the team’s last-place standing and Bell’s status as “nothing but the past”, it’s almost certain he’ll walk in free agency. All signs point to the Nationals moving on.
MacKenzie Gore
For a while this season, MacKenzie Gore looked like the long-term ace the Nationals had been waiting for. The 26-year-old lefty, a key piece of the 2022 Juan Soto trade, finally seemed to be putting it all together. By late July, he had a 3.80 ERA over 22 starts, 148 strikeouts in 123 innings, and even earned his first All-Star nod. He was leading the rotation and drawing serious attention across the league.
Gore was one of the biggest names being tossed around at the 2025 trade deadline, and when rumors swirled about him, it wasn’t surprising. The Cubs, Padres, and other contenders were reportedly in on him, and the trade market for frontline starters was sky-high. Some believed the Nationals could cash in on his value and pull off a blockbuster. But interim GM Mike DeBartolo stood firm, telling reporters he planned to keep the young core intact, with Gore right at the center of that group.
That kind of decision made sense in the moment. Gore remains under team control through 2027. Moving him mid-breakout would’ve been a bold, possibly risky move. But now, just a few weeks later, that decision already looks shakier.
Since the deadline, Gore hit a rough patch. His ERA has jumped from 2.87 in June to 4.29 after four straight poor starts, including getting shelled by the A’s in his most recent outing. Over that four-game span, he has a 13.62 ERA, with more walks than strikeouts and noticeable drops in both velocity and spin. This brutal stretch crushed what was once peak trade value. This isn’t new either, as Gore experienced a similar post-deadline breakdown last season.
Long-term, it’s hard to know where this is heading. Since Gore is a Scott Boras client, it is highly unlikely and almost impossible that the Nationals would reach a long-term extension with him. The team might not be ready to contend during his final two years of arbitration, which puts them in a tough position. They could keep him and risk losing him for nothing in free agency after 2027, or they could trade him this offseason for a strong prospect haul while he still has good value.
Dealing Gore would signal the Nationals’ lack of confidence they’ll be competitive anytime soon, and could essentially restart the rebuild. But trading him is starting to look like the right move, given the improbability of an extension and how little sense it would make to hold onto him just to watch him leave after five seasons on a non-contending team. Gore’s value likely reached its peak at the 2025 deadline, but despite the decline from his recent struggles, the Nationals should still look to move him this winter.
CBS Sports agrees in a recent article listing Mackenzie Gore at No. 7 on “Ranking the top 10 MLB trade candidates for the 2025-26 offseason”: “It doesn't make the decision any easier that Gore, a free agent after the 2027 campaign, isn't far removed from profiling as an inconsistent mid-rotation starter. Stay tuned on this one.”
Keeping MacKenzie Gore is a gamble. If his struggles continue, his value could fall off quickly, especially as he gets closer to free agency. With Boras representing him, a long-term extension feels highly unlikely, which puts pressure on the Nationals to make a move while they can still get something back. Trading away a young lefty with talent is never easy, but it may be the smart choice if the team is not ready to compete during his remaining years of control. The situation remains uncertain, but it would not be a shock to see Gore in a different jersey by Opening Day 2026.
Nathaniel Lowe
When the Nationals acquired Nathaniel Lowe from the Rangers last December, it felt like a smart, low-risk addition to solve the 1B issue. He was one year removed from winning a Gold Glove and helping Texas win the 2023 World Series, and just two years removed from a Silver Slugger in 2022. Across four seasons in Texas, Lowe served as a model of consistency, hitting over .260 with an OPS above .760 each year. The Nationals gave up reliever Robert Garcia in the one-for-one deal, hoping Lowe could bring veteran stability and left-handed pop to the middle of the lineup.
But that production hasn’t followed him to Washington.
Lowe’s first season in D.C. has been a major letdown. He’s batting just .216 with a .657 OPS, both career lows. His walk rate has dipped, his strikeouts have climbed, and his offensive production has taken a clear step back. While he’s hit 15 home runs and driven in over 60 runs, the overall profile has fallen off. His 84 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR tell the full story: Lowe has been one of the least productive first basemen in baseball this season.
When the Nationals brought in Lowe, they hoped to unlock more power at the plate. But that shift may have tinkered with his swing mechanics and contributed to this inconsistency never seen from him before. Despite all that, his name came up in trade speculation as the deadline approached. With one more year of arbitration control after 2025, Lowe seemed like a possible buy-low target for a contender. But nothing materialized. His struggles likely tanked any real market. And the Nationals held on, perhaps hoping he’d find his rhythm down the stretch and become movable in the offseason.
There’s not much incentive to keep him around. Lowe is already making over $10 million and is due for another raise this winter. For a rebuilding team with younger options like Yohandy Morales and even Andrés Chaparro potentially in the mix, it just doesn’t make sense to pay that price for a declining veteran.
Given his heavy underperformance this year both at the plate and in the field, the most likely outcome is that the Nationals non-tender him this offseason. A trade could be possible if he heats up down the stretch and draws interest, but either way, it’s hard to envision him back in a Nationals uniform next season.
Unless something drastically changes, Lowe’s time in Washington likely will be short-lived. He survived the trade deadline, but he may not survive the offseason.