The 2023 MLB Trade Deadline is less than a week away, and while the Washington Nationals don’t have a Max Scherzer or Trea Turner or Juan Soto (or even a Josh Bell) to deal this season, they do have some saleable parts that can help contenders in different ways.
Jeimer Candelario, Corey Dickerson, and Carl Edwards are their only true free agents, but perhaps Lane Thomas, Trevor Williams, or some others could be attractive players around the league – and when GM Mike Rizzo joined the Junkies for his weekly Wednesday spot, he intimated that the Nats organization, if not the MLB roster, could look a lot different come next week.
“Right now it’s business as usual, but as you get closer to the deadline, the activity will increase,” Rizzo said. “I think we’ll be busy and active for sure; we’ll be aggressive and make deals that will make a lot of sense for us. We have attractive players for some contending teams, and hopefully, come next Tuesday at 6 p.m., we’ll be very excited about what we’ve done, and some new prospects if we make some good deals.”
Soto could possibly be on the move again if the Padres decide to try to re-tool, but the biggest question overall that may or may not be answered by next week is also on the west coast: will Shohei Ohtani still be an Angel come August 2?
“I have no idea. I think it all depends on how they play until then,” Rizzo said when the Junkies asked that question. “If they can sniff it, and they have a chance to get to the playoffs with him, I’d imagine they keep him, because he’s one of the best ever. But, if they do fall out of it, I think they’d have to entertain the idea.”
The Angels entered Wednesday 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with the Red Sox and Yankees ahead of them in the chase, so those teams’ decisions may also play into things.
Rizzo’s weekly segment with the Junkies also included a lot of talk about Dylan Crews, C.J. Abrams, and the team’s approach to hitting and batting practice – take a listen to it all above!
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