Nationals Put More Pressure on Their Front Office After Winning Diamondbacks Series
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In the middle of their most important series of the season to date, Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni got their trade deadline activity going when he shipped Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox in a late night Saturday move.
They got back left-handed pitcher Connelly Early, who fits the bill of being both a short-term upgrade for their pitching staff and a piece of the future with his multiple years of club control remaining. The Nationals likely won't be done, as they were previously eyeing additions of multiple big league players while also selling off pieces to get more future assets.
Coming into this weekend set against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the pressure was on Washington to perform well. Not just to make up some ground in the playoff race, but to also prove to the front office that more win-now moves should be made.
Pressure Is Being Put on Nationals Front Office to Bring in More Pieces
Now, after they won, 10-7, in the series finale to take two out of three against the Diamondbacks, they are firmly in the hunt for the final NL wild card spot, as they trail Arizona by just one game with seven contests remaining until the Aug. 3 trade deadline. And when considering the fact that this Nationals offense is the best in the majors, they have a real shot to overcome the odds to make the postseason if a few key additions are made.
Pitchers should be at the top of the wish list. Even in this matchup against the Diamondbacks -- who entered the day around middle of the pack in runs scored -- Washington's pitching staff allowed 13 total runs, which was impacted by their performance on Sunday when they gave up seven. Regardless, those are the types of outings that can come back to haunt the Nationals, and it's why the front office should consider making more moves to bolster that unit.
That's not to say Washington should be pushing all their chips into the center of the table. But this team continues to hang around in the playoff race, so adding a couple of win-now pieces could be exactly what they need to get into the postseason for the first time since 2019.
But to truly present an airtight case to Toboni and the front office when it comes to buying, the Nationals need to perform against the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves during their two upcoming series. Because if they falter in those matchups, then the scales could easily get tipped back to more of the selling side of things.
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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