As the offseason rolls on, it's worth taking a look back at the Washington Nationals' 2025 trade deadline haul. The team, led at the time by interim GM Mike DeBartolo, prioritized function over form, spurning a flashy big-name swap in favor of several smaller deals to rebuild some depth in a system that's still relatively barren. How, then, did those acquisitions fare in the months following the deadline?
RHP Clayton Beeter (acquired with OF Browm Martinez for INF Amed Rosario)
Beeter, 27 this year, came up a starter with the Yankees and was named to the All-Star Futures Game roster for the American League in 2023, but struggled with walks his entire Minor League career. After navigating injuries in 2024, Beeter transitioned to a long-term relief role that allowed his mid-90s fastball and wipeout slider to play up to their true potentials. After three appearances with Triple-A Rochester after the deadline where he struck out over 40% of the batters he faced, the Nats brought him up to the bigs, and he thrived. 21.2 innings with 33 strikeouts and a manageable rate of 5.8 walks per 9 innings translated into a 2.49 ERA and 2.72 FIP for Beeter, who just might become a key member of an otherwise thin Nationals bullpen in 2026.
Also acquired in the deal that sent Amed Rosario to the Bronx was 18-year-old outfielder Browm Martinez. Martinez has yet to play a game in the Nationals system, being sidelined with a season-ending knee injury prior to his acquisition by Washington, but in an admittedly small sample size of 18 games he obliterated Dominican Summer League pitchers to the tune of a .404/.507/.632 slash line with the Yankees. Martinez is a toolsy young gun who has the skillset to develop into something bigger. The team expects him to be ready for at least the 2026 DSL season, if not Florida Complex League play.
1B Sam Brown (acquired with LHP Jake Eder for RHP Luis García and LHP Andrew Chafin)
It was a strange move for the Angels to acquire García and Chafin when they did, and they ultimately ended up losing 90 games and finished last in the American League West Division. One organization's confounding maneuver is another's boon, though, as the Nationals got a former 50 FV southpaw and a toolsy first baseman in exchange for two guys who weren't going to be with either team long-term.
Brown slashed .244/.350/.358 in 92 games with Double-A Rocket City prior to being traded, but those numbers jumped up dramatically in the 35 games he played with Double-A Harrisburg in the Nationals (though that might be correlated to a corresponding 70-point increase in his BABIP). FanGraphs evaluators aren't bullish on him, citing his swing leaving him potentially vulnerable to big-league velocity and ultimately assigning him a mediocre 35+ FV.
The left-handed Eder, a career minor league starter though used in multi-inning relief in his short Major League stint with the Angels, made just three starts in the Nationals system in 2025, none longer than three innings, before hitting the Minor League IL with an undisclosed injury on August 5. He was reactivated in mid-September but didn't find his way back into game action afterward. Eder was once a high-upside arm with a nasty slider and high-90s velo, but 2021 Tommy John surgery and a 2023 foot fracture have significantly delayed his path to Major League success. It's unclear how the Nationals want to utilize him going forward.
OF Christian Franklin (acquired with INF Ronny Cruz for RHP Michael Soroka)
The Nats fleeced the Cubs for the second time in three years at the 2025 deadline when they offloaded Michael Soroka just before the wheels fell off in exchange for outfielder Christian Franklin (Pipeline no. 12, FanGraphs no. 6) and infielder Ronny Cruz (Pipeline no. 16, FanGraphs no. 14). Cruz didn't see game action in the Nationals system, but has excellent raw power that a revamped Nationals development system could be able to harness.
The biggest prize is Franklin, the 5'9" right-handed outfielder who has yet to hit worse than league average in any Minor League season thus far. Taken in the 4th round of the 2021 Draft, Christian missed the 2022 season after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee, but has rebounded excellently in the years since and now figures to be one of the more well-rounded players in the Nationals system. It's another contender to fight for a role in the crowded Nationals outfield mix in 2026, as the team might figure the 26-year-old has nothing left to prove at the Triple-A level. Franklin features a particularly attractive Prospect Savant page, which takes Triple-A Statcast data and organizes it in a way similar to Baseball Savant, relative to other players at the level.
RHP Josh Randall (acquired with RHP R.J. Sales for RHP Kyle Finnegan)
23-year-old Josh Randall (ranked 27th in the Nationals system by MLB Pipeline, and 36th by FanGraphs) is still relatively early in his development, being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2024 draft by Detroit before making his way to the Nationals in the Kyle Finnegan swap. The big 6'4" righty made six starts with High-A Wilmington to a 6.44 ERA in 29.1 innings, though his peripherals (he walked just 3.8% of batters faced) speak somewhat more highly of him. A reliever for the Arizona Wildcats after leaving his catching days behind him, he transferred to San Diego and became a starter for 2024, so he's only been starting for two years. That means Randall isn't likely to have a path to big league action until he's at least in his mid-20s, but with more development he could still turn into an asset to the club.
RHP R.J. Sales (acquired with RHP Josh Randall for RHP Kyle Finnegan)
Also acquired in the Finnegan trade was fellow starter R.J. Sales. Sales was a 10th-rounder in 2024 and posted strong numbers at Class-A Lakeland in the first half, prompting Mike DeBartolo's front office to go after the then-21-year-old. The strikeouts jumped up when he joined the Class-A FredNats for 6 starts in the second half to help propel them to the Carolina League playoffs. Sales is ranked outside the organization's top 30 prospects by both MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs evaluators, but thus far he's displayed the stuff to move up in the system.
RHP Eriq Swan (acquired with RHP Sean Paul Liñan for OF Alex Call)
The Alex Call trade was a little surprising, but it did wonders for the Los Angeles Dodgers who acquired him, as Call made seven appearances en route to the team's second consecutive World Series championship and posted a .533 OBP in 15 plate appearances in the process. On the other side of the swap were two interesting minor league right-handers. Eriq Swan, 24 this year and standing at a towering 6'6", sits in the high 90s to start games then dips in velocity as a start goes on, though the angle at which it approaches means it's coming downhill and thus misses bats less effectively than other fastballs at that speed. FanGraphs evaluation praises his admittedly raw secondaries, and he's got some refining to do on that front, walking over 6 batters per 9 at High-A between two organizations in 2025. Still, those offerings are promising. Swan won't likely factor into the big league picture for at least another year if not more.
Also in the trade was Colombian Sean Paul Liñan, 21 this year. Liñan has bounced between starting and relieving in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He features excellent extension given his six-foot-even frame that helps his lower-90s fastball play up past its velocity, and pairs it with a standout changeup that makes him worth watching. Like Swan, Liñan has struggled with walks, but his raw stuff makes him a promising piece, and replacing his underwhelming cutter and slider with an upgraded offering should make him even more attractive going forward.