Nationals Should Target Pirates Star Closer at MLB Trade Deadline

The Washington Nationals have managed to pull off a major surprise by hanging around the National League playoff picture as the calendar has hit June.

Nobody could have seen this one coming after the Nationals got off to an abysmal start to the campaign, one that began with hopes of improvement that appeared to get buried rather quickly.

But Washington has emerged from a brutal April and beginning of May to rattle off 10 wins in its last 14 games to improve to 28-31 while sitting third place in the National League East division.

Now, this young, exciting group that many pegged as one of the contenders of the future is just five games back of the last Wild Card spot in the NL, and none of the clubs vying for the last spot are world beaters.

What Could the Washington Nationals Do at the Trade Deadline?

General manager Mike Rizzo will have some big decisions ahead of him as the summer rolls along.

With an impressive amount of young talent in the organizational cupboard, Rizzo could add even more by moving pending free agents like Amed Rosario, Josh Bell, Kyle Finnegan and Michael Soroka to clubs with World Series aspirations.

Alternatively, he could make the choice to supplement the existing group and make an honest effort to return to the postseason.

This would certainly not involve the Nationals paying the premium prices that comes with buying at the top of the market, but rewarding this team’s persistence by adding pieces here and there to help push for the playoffs could go a long way toward fostering an organizational culture of success.

The obvious place to add would be the bullpen, a unit that has been much better lately but still ranks 28th in ERA among all MLB units.

If Rizzo looks to buy to upgrade this unit, he should look no further than Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar.

The Pirates failed to trade Bednar at the peak of his value two years ago, and now Washington could benefit.

Bednar struggled mightily in 2024 and floundered out of the gate this season, but he has settled back in as a quality Major League reliever since returning from a minor league stint on April 19.

He’s allowed just one run over his last six appearances and finished May with a 3.86 ERA.

He has the upside to provide another high-leverage reliever in the Washington bullpen alongside Finnegan, and he likely would not cost the sort of major prospect capital that would come back to bite the Nationals down the line.

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