Nationals Drop Series to Blue Jays, How That Could Impact Their Trade Deadline
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The Washington Nationals lost to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday by a score of 5-2.
That defeat resulted in a series loss for the Nationals, who entered the day in striking distance of the final NL wild card spot. Now, they are two games back from the Philadelphia Phillies, who are in the midst of a spiral following the All-Star break that has seen them lose eight out of 10 and three in a row against the Miami Marlins.
Unfortunately for Washington, other teams took advantage of Philadelphia's misfortune, as there are now three additional teams sitting two games out of a wild card spot, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds lurking three and 5.5 games back, respectively.
With Aug. 3 right around the corner, this series loss to the Blue Jays could have an impact on how the Nationals operate before the trade deadline.
Nationals Seemingly Still Figuring Out Their Approach
It should be noted that it's not clear exactly what president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his front office were going to do before their matchup with Toronto. While they did trade away breakout infielder Curtis Mead over this past weekend, they got back left-handed pitcher Connelly Early, who is expected to help them both in the short- and long-term. And because Early fits Washington's present and future timelines, that move wasn't necessarily a precursor to other moves coming.
But following this series loss to the Blue Jays, the playoff odds aren't favorable for the Nationals. FanGraphs has given them a 9.4% chance to make the postseason at the time of writing, which is the lowest percentage out of all the teams either ahead of them or tied with them in the wild card standings. Even the Cardinals -- who could become sellers -- are viewed as a more likely playoff team at 11.3%, with only the Reds sitting below the Nationals with a 1.8% chance.
Toboni and his front office have to know that, which is why it wouldn't be surprising to see them commit to selling off some pieces to acquire future assets, especially when it comes to impending free agents like 2026 All-Star pitcher Foster Griffin. However, there was also a report that stated Washington is no longer fielding trade offers for Luis Garcia Jr. at the moment, which could be a sign that they have decided to stand pat or even add win-now players to help them make the postseason.
Pressure Is Fully on Nationals to Win Against Braves
Losing two out of three instead of winning two out of three against the Blue Jays likely didn't have much of an impact on how Toboni and the rest of the decision makers view this team. However, there's no question that this series loss has put a ton of pressure on the Nationals to win against the Braves in their upcoming four-game road set.
With the weekend still to go before deadline plans need to be solidified, Washington cannot afford to drop games against their division rivals. Because if they do, then they could find themselves well behind the final wild card spot, which might force Toboni's hand to sell more pieces than they plan to right now.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai