Three Areas Washington Nationals Must Address at MLB Trade Deadline

Being sellers at the MLB trade deadline doesn’t mean the Washington Nationals shouldn’t address needs on their roster.

The Nationals have a solid portfolio of veterans on expiring deals or with limited team control that they can use to acquire younger players with more team control or even prospects that are close to being ready for the Majors.

It would be hard to pinpoint which players the Nationals might try to acquire at the deadline. It would depend on the return and general manager Mike Rizzo is likely to gravitate toward deals with the highest return.

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But these are three areas Washington should use the trade deadline to address for the future.

First Base

It’s unlikely the Nationals deal Nathaniel Lowe unless the return is too significant to ignore. Washington could also deal him in the offseason or at next year’s trade deadline. But, after next season Lowe can test free agency and it’s likely he’ll move on.

Do the Nationals have a first baseman of the future? Yohandy Morales is at Triple-A and could be a 2026 call-up. He is the Nats’ No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline. But franchises have multiple players developing at key positions for a reason. Washington can use the deadline to get Morales some competition.

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Catcher

Is it time to start a dialogue about Keibert Ruiz? He’s having his worst power season since 2022 when he hit seven home runs in 112 games. He has only two in 66 games this season. He’s tied to the Nationals through 2030, but he’s cheap enough to be dealt one day.

Washington won’t deal him this year because the pipeline is in development mode. Washington has four catchers among its Top 30 prospects but none of them are playing above High-A Wilmington. Caleb Lomavita could be ready in 2027, but that’s assuming the competitive balance pick from last year develops at a consistent pace.

It might be time to get a catcher closer to being MLB ready.

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MLB-Ready Starting Pitching

The Nationals have four of its five starting pitchers either under contract or team control. But that doesn’t mean much for an organization that lost DJ Herz for the season and has two incredible young pitchers in Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana at least a season away from being in position to help.

Acquiring a starting pitcher with some MLB experience and some controllable years would be ideal for a rotation that has MacKenzie Gore and a group of solid, but not spectacular, starters to go along with him.

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