The Nationals head into Sacramento with a chance to make the next six days count, and they need it. Washington is sitting a game under .500, with the trade deadline 16 games away, and this stretch lines up as the softest part of the schedule all season. If the Nats are going to push, this is the window.
Cade Cavalli gets the ball to open the ceremonial second half, and he’s doing it on regular rest after starting Sunday’s game. After that, the rotation keeps rolling with Miles Mikolas, who is finishing a five-game suspension and will pitch Tuesday. Zack Littell is set for tomorrow, All-Star Foster Griffin goes Sunday, and Andrew Alvarez is lined up for Monday in Colorado.
Griffin was one of Washington’s All-Stars, along with James Wood and CJ Abrams, but the club also had another case for the Midsummer Classic. Luis Garcia Jr. was the other Nationals player who deserved the nod.
Snubs happen, and Garcia’s season has pushed him up the team’s WAR rankings behind only Wood and Abrams among the position players. After Garcia, the next names in that mix are Keibert Ruiz, Curtis Mead, Jacob Young, and Nasim Nunez.
Washington also shuffled the roster after Sunday’s game. Catcher Harry Ford and reliever Max Kranick were added, while Abimelec Ortiz and Drew Millas were moved out. Millas was placed on the 10-day injured list, and if his fractured finger needs revision surgery, there’s a chance he won’t be back this season.
The offense has carried plenty of the load. The Nationals lead MLB with 516 runs scored, which works out to 5.33 runs per game.
The pitching staff has allowed 4.75 earned runs per game, and the gap is being dragged around by the unearned runs created by errors. Even with all that, Washington’s run differential sits at plus-7.
Blake Butera’s bullpen chart was listed as N/A. The FanGraphs WAR sample is now big enough to start pointing toward full-season trends, and the OAA defensive numbers are beginning to show what this Nationals team has and doesn’t have.
In Other News...
Nationals Just Moved On From Another Bullpen Problem
The Nationals bullpen shuffle continued before the All-Star break, with the club designating a left-handed reliever for assignment to clear space for first base prospect Abimelec Ortiz. It was the latest sign that Washington is still trying to sort out a relief corps that has been under pressure during recent games, and the move fit the pattern of a team looking inward for answers while it waits for the bigger roster decisions ahead.
After clearing waivers, the reliever elected free agency, leaving Washington with one less left-handed option in a bullpen that has already been a problem area. The Nationals are still evaluating internal ways to steady the relief mix, and with the trade deadline approaching, the next move could say plenty about how aggressively they plan to address the issue. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Suddenly Face A Luis Garca Jr. Decision They Can't Ignore
Luis Garca Jr. has turned a strong season into one of the more interesting decisions on the Nationals summer board. By the All-Star break, he had already reached a career-best 20 home runs and carried an .871 OPS, production that has made him one of the most valuable pieces on a roster still trying to sort out its long-term direction. He is also the longest-tenured National, which gives his rise a little extra weight inside the clubhouse as Washington weighs what kind of team it wants to be beyond this season.
The challenge now is figuring out how to balance that value against the realities of the market and the calendar. Garca remains under team control through 2027, so the Nationals do not have to rush into anything, and the front office still has time to sort through whether keeping him in place matters more than any return that might come before the Aug. 3 deadline. For a club trying to build something sturdier, moving a player like this would carry consequences well beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Farm System Delivers One High, One Low, One Wild Finish
The Nationals affiliates spent the night moving in different directions, with Rochester putting together the cleanest performance of the bunch in a 7-2 win over Jacksonville. Jackson Kent handled the heavy lifting on the mound, while Abimelec Ortiz and Christian Franklin kept the lineup moving with a steady stream of traffic, a good sign for a system that has been looking for more consistent production at the upper levels.
Elsewhere, Wilmington found a way to finish, Harrisburg had another frustrating result, and the DSL club nearly stole a comeback before running out of runway. The Blue Rocks late surge stood out most, but the bigger organizational note may have been the roster shuffle involving Blake Brown, a reminder that the Nationals are still sorting through pieces across the farm as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]