The Washington Nationals dropped a heartbreaker yesterday in their series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies. While their record dropped to 3-3 overall after their first 2 series against likely playoff teams, it is hard not to be encouraged about the start they have had.
Through 6 games, the Nationals have a positive run differential and have performed above expectations in a lot of facets, although there is still a lot of room for improvement. The defense overall needs to improve, although the starting rotation has been very solid except for Miles Mikolas.
As the season progresses, we will likely see James Wood begin to heat up to help out early standout hitters like Daylen Lile, Brady House, and Joey Wiemer, and other guys will also need to heat up with the bat as well. The bullpen needs to improve, but hopefully they will get more comfortable in working with the new coaching staff to help them throughout the campaign.
But as the team continues to play on the field, the front office continues to make moves behind the scenes to try and improve the club. One move they made before Wednesday's series finale against the Phillies was one that snuck under the radar due to the nature of the deal.
That deal was to send lefty Jake Eder, who had been acquired from the Los Angeles Angels last August, back out west to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. Given that Eder was a spring training camp cut from the big-league roster who had been designated for assignment, his spot on the Nationals' 40-man roster was already open.
As such, the Nationals will just take the cash from the Dodgers in exchange for Eder, whose tenure within the Nationals' organization was pretty unceremonious to say the least. The Nationals and Dodgers have made a fair share of deals over the last few years, most notably the Max Scherzer and Trea Turner trade that helped kickstart the Nationals' current rebuild.
The Nationals also dealt Alex Call to the Dodgers last year, a move that resulted in the former fan favorite in Call getting his first World Series ring. We will see what other moves the front office has up their sleeve moving forward, but this should be a solid move for all parties.
What do you think of the Nationals' decision to trade Jake Eder to the Dodgers? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.