Will Washington Nationals Trade Prospects This Offseason to Improve?
The Washington Nationals are heading into the offseason looking to improve a team that feels like it is getting closer to being able to compete in the National League East.
It was a successful 2024 campaign for the Nationals in that the team's young talent started making its way to the Majors, including outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews.
There has been a lot of speculation that the franchise could be major players for personnel this offseason. While most of that speculation has been regarding free agents, the team could also look to entertain the trade market.
While the Nationals haven’t been active in the trade market in a long time in terms of improving the team, they have stockpiled a lot of talented prospects over the last several years and could be positioned to make a move.
Recently, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports wrote about the potential of the Nationals trying to make a trade rather than handing out massive contracts in free agency.
“Are the Nationals willing to trade any top prospects?," he wrote. "They certainly haven’t considered anything along those lines since the rebuild began in 2021. But given the steps they’ve taken to restock their farm system since and given the depth they’ve accrued at multiple positions (especially in the outfield), it seems like it’s time to start considering these things again.”
Based on the state of the franchise, all things should be on the table. Free agency certainly seems like an area that the team can look to make improvements in, as they have a couple of contracts coming off the books. However, with depth in the farm system and a lot of young talent already in the majors, the Nationals might entertain trading some prospects for a proven player.
While it's hard to imagine them trading a player like infielder Brady House, moving prospects that might be a few years away could make sense for the right player. If Washington looks to improve at first base in free agency, they might decide that improving the starting rotation would be safer in a trade rather than in free agency.
The Nationals don’t have a great recent track record with massive deals for pitchers and trading for one might be safer. Even though trading prospects have certainly been off the table in recent years, the development of young players has seemingly opened that up as a possibility.
