After seven years in Washington, it looks like Nationals ace Max Scherzer is headed to San Diego.
The Padres are close to acquiring Scherzer, Ken Rosenthal reports for The Athletic, in a deal that would ship one of the top pitchers in the game and a future Hall of Famer to a contentious NL West, where the Padres trail the Giants by 5.5 games.
In the end, Scherzer was able to pitch in front of the home Nationals crowd one final time Thursday, even with the trade deadline looming, calmly guiding the Nats to a 3-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader against the Phillies on six innings pitched with five strikeouts and three walks.
This post will be updated as the story develops.