Nationals Urged to Address Key Weakness Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline

Things have not gone well for the Washington Nationals during the 2025 MLB regular season, causing a major shakeup within the organization.

Recently, general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez were both fired, leaving the team in a tough spot with the 2025 MLB Draft and MLB trade deadline both near.

The performance of the team over the last few years under their watch certainly warranted a change being made. Since winning the World Series in 2019, they have been amongst the least successful teams on the field.

More News: Five Former Managers Nationals Could Pursue After Firing Dave Martinez

But, the timing of the move is certainly head-scratching, at the very least.

There will be a lot of pressure on whoever is making the decisions ahead of the draft to nail the No. 1 overall pick, providing the franchise a chance to add another cornerstone to the mix.

Also, they will have their work cut out for them ahead of the trade deadline, where the Nationals could look to make some moves.

More News: Nationals' Firing of Resourceful GM Mike Rizzo Will Go Down as Big Mistake

One player who has been frequently mentioned in trade rumors is closer Kyle Finnegan.

He wasn’t traded by Washington ahead of last year’s deadline, but their decision to non-tender him this past winter speaks volumes; he likely isn’t viewed as a long-term piece, which makes sense since he is turning 34 in September and isn’t on their timeline.

However, trading away Finnegan would create a massive void in what is already the team’s weakest area of the team: their bullpen.

More News: Nationals Provide Encouraging Update on Star Prospect Who Will Miss Futures Game

It is one area they could look to bring in some help via whatever trades the team makes in the coming weeks.

“For the season, Nationals relievers have an MLB-worst 5.79 ERA. They have seen success from young bullpen arms Jose A. Ferrer, Brad Lord, Cole Henry, Jackson Rutledge and Zach Brzykcy. But if they trade closer Kyle Finnegan, who is on an expiring contract, they will need to fill late innings,” wrote Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.

It certainly wasn’t from a lack of trying that the relief pitching staff has struggled.

More News: Nationals New Regime Will Have Massive Undertaking To Get Back in Contention

The Nationals spent money this offseason to address the need, signing Jorge Lopez, Lucas Sims and Colin Poche. All were underwhelmed and moved on by the end of May.

Not having Derek Law in the mix, who has been sidelined by an injury since spring training, has hurt a lot, too.

As Camerato pointed out, there are some good pieces for the team to potentially build around, but it will be interesting to see how things shake out once a new regime is put into place.

For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.