WASHINGTON — Prognosticators got a lot wrong about the Washington Nationals. The latest error: The Nats no longer expect to be pure sellers at this year’s trade deadline.
In a twist that would have been improbable at the start of the season, the Nationals also plan to acquire some big-league help, according to a person in the organization who was granted anonymity in exchange for candor. Those additions may be light in scope and could be outweighed by what the Nationals also sell — they still have an eye on their long-term plan, after all — but the intent to make additions of any kind is notable.
It’s late July and the Nats remain far better than prognosticators expected on Opening Day. Their postseason odds, while slim, are not zero. As such, the Nationals plan to add at least one big-league player and will even consider acquiring a player on an expiring contract if they deem it is the right fit. That would make it easier for them to trade lesser-valued prospects in the farm.
This all, of course, is barring a massive collapse before Aug. 3.
Rival evaluators still fully expect the Nats to deal from their big-league roster, too, with All-Stars CJ Abrams and Foster Griffin among those who will garner interest. But potentially adding players as well represents a pivot for a team that has seemingly convinced the front office that it is worthy of some level of investment.
“To be in a position right now where no one really knows if we’re going to be buyers or sellers is a good thing,” manager Blake Butera said earlier this week. “We have an opportunity to change what we’re going to be doing, or we have an opportunity to win games and put ourselves in a position to make a playoff run. That’s what we want to do.”
The immediate needs are clear. The bullpen is on pace to break the MLB record for blown saves and has accumulated minus-2.6 wins above replacement. Outside of Griffin and Cade Cavalli, it’s unclear who would start a postseason game for Washington.
The Nationals will not close themselves off to adding big-league position players — and will be even more open-minded about the types of prospects they could add — but can be more dogmatic when buying, if they wish.
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The Nationals are one of MLB’s biggest surprises this season. After Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, they are 52-52, three games back of the final wild-card spot. Their postseason odds — 6.9 percent before Friday’s game, or 10th in the NL, per FanGraphs — tell a harsher truth about what it takes to contend in the National League. Crucially, though, they are not dead yet.
There is not some arbitrary percentage that will dictate how much they buy. It is also worth tempering expectations — the addition could even be a low-cost reliever. But for the first time in a long time, they are looking at other big-league clubhouses for immediate help.
The Nationals have not traded for a player that was on another team’s active big-league roster since the winter before the 2025 season. That’s when Washington traded reliever Robert Garcia for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, though that experiment ended that August with Lowe getting designated for assignment.
The Nationals have not added an active big leaguer at the deadline since Abrams (a rookie) and Luke Voit arrived in the Juan Soto deal.
Players in their clubhouse, especially those who have been around for a while, are cognizant of the reality. The idea that they’re still contending, still playing for something beyond themselves, has had an impact on the intense demands the coaching staff has asked them to meet.
“It’s different,” said Luis Garcia Jr., the longest-tenured player on the roster. “It definitely gives you that push of coming in here and just being happy and motivated to keep working, knowing that you have that possibility to make it to the postseason.”
Washington has several players it could move at the trade deadline. Alongside Abrams and Griffin, Garcia’s name has also gained traction in trade talks as teams look for power bats. But there is something to the idea that the Nationals believe they can outbid teams that are far more motivated than they are to add big-league talent.
And, of course, that they made these games in late July actually matter.
“These guys love being around each other,” Butera said. “They want to stay together. At the end of the day, we want to play playoff baseball here. And that’s why these games are important.”
