The Washington Nationals have spent the first half of the season getting strong performances from plenty of places. CJ Abrams has played his way into the starting shortstop spot for the NL All-Star team.
James Wood is tracking toward a career-year. Luis Garcia Jr. has answered back in a big way with 20 homers in the first half.
But Foster Griffin may have been the most impressive of them all.
The left-hander was dominant again on Wednesday, working seven innings and giving up one run on five hits while striking out nine and walking none. That outing dropped his ERA to 2.27 on the season, and it also helped push him into a different kind of conversation: ESPN now gives him a 55% chance of being traded.
ESPN did not explain why it pegged Griffin as more likely than not to be moved before the Aug. 3 deadline, but the contract situation is an obvious part of the picture. Griffin is under team control only through 2026 after signing a one-year deal this past offseason that brought him over from Japan.
That setup could make him a tempting chip for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, especially with the Nationals appearing likely to keep Abrams. Griffin, a former first-round pick, has put himself in position to bring back future assets, and the numbers back up how valuable he’s been: he ranks No. 12 in the majors and No. 9 in the National League with a 2.77 ERA through 19 starts.
Still, moving him would come with real risk.
Washington is heading into the first half firmly in the playoff picture, something few saw coming. The offense has carried a lot of that surge, but Griffin has been the one starter who has consistently given the Nationals a real chance to win every time he takes the ball.
Dealing that kind of arm in the middle of a postseason chase could damage the club’s chances of reaching a wild card spot or even winning the NL East. It could also hit the clubhouse hard and make the road tougher if the Nationals do get into October.
That’s the decision Toboni has to sort through before the deadline: keep pushing with the team in front of him, or cash in a pitcher who has become one of the most dependable pieces on the roster. With less than a month to go, Griffin’s name is one to watch.
In Other News...
Nationals Prospect Is Making This Decision Impossible To Ignore
Yohandy Morales has done enough at Triple-A to keep forcing the issue, and the numbers are starting to look like those of a hitter who is no longer just knocking on the door. The Nationals prospect is batting .303 with 21 home runs and a .930 OPS, production that stands out even with the usual caveats about contact rate and a ground-ball profile that still need watching.
What has made the conversation harder to ignore is that Morales has also shown signs of tightening up the parts of his game that had been holding him back. His recent strikeout rate has improved, his ball flight has trended in a better direction, and with his Rule 5 eligibility coming this offseason, Washington may soon have to decide how much longer it can keep waiting before making room for him. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Make Another Bullpen Move Fans Saw Coming
The Nationals are turning to another left-handed arm for the bullpen, selecting Tom Cosgroves contract and giving him a chance to join the active roster. The move comes after Brad Lord landed on the 15-day injured list, a shuffle that had been easy to anticipate once Washington needed another healthy option in the relief mix.
Cosgrove is a recent pickup from the Astros and has barely had time to settle in with the organization, making just one appearance for Triple-A Rochester since arriving. With the roster picture changing quickly, Washington is giving itself another look at a pitcher it brought in to provide depth and flexibility as the bullpen keeps evolving. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Made A Pitching Move That Could Reshape Their Depth Chart
The Nationals pitching pipeline took another turn this week, with the organization making a move that could ripple through the depth chart as the big league club keeps sorting out its relief picture. It comes against the backdrop of a busy minor league slate, where Rochester dropped a tight 8-7 game at Worcester, Harrisburg kept rolling with an 8-3 win over Erie, and Fredericksburg and the FCL Nationals also turned in wins that offered a snapshot of how much arms and bats are being tested across the system.
For Washington, the larger question is less about one box score than about how the club balances immediate needs with long-term depth. The minor league results show a system with some momentum in spots and some frustration in others, but the pitching shuffle is the part that matters most at the top level. However the next round of decisions plays out, it figures to say plenty about which arms the Nationals trust to help now and which ones they want to keep close for later. [Read more 🡒]