With the trade deadline just a day away, I wanted to make a few final predictions on what the Nats will do. I think this series pretty much sealed the Nats fate as sellers. However, I do still think they could look for some controllable bullpen help. Here is a look at what the Nats will do, as well as what they won’t do.
My first prediction is that the Nats will trade Luis Garcia Jr. to the Diamondbacks. There has been a lot of smoke around that fit for a while now. Bob Nightengale put out that the D-Backs
would “love” to have Garcia. The fit just makes too much sense. Arizona badly needs a first baseman, and they have some solid prospects to offer.
In a Garcia to the D-Backs deal, I think the return will be pitching based. The two key pieces in my mock trade are Patrick Forbes and Brian Curley. Both are 2025 draft picks with big upside. Forbes was the 29th pick in the 2025 draft who possesses a big fastball/slider combination. He has prototypical size, and while he has spent much of this season injured, he is healthy now. Forbes has mid-rotation upside.
Curley is a unique pitching prospect thanks to his 5’10 size. Despite his short frame, Curley can run his heater into the upper 90’s and can even top out at 100. This season he has 102 strikeouts to just 23 walks in 84.2 innings. However, he has been shockingly hittable with a .292 average against. This is still an intriguing arm who could be an exciting bullpen piece or a back end starter.
My second prediction is that Foster Griffin will also be on the move to the Rays. In my mock trade, the package will be centered around Michael Forret and Andreimi Antunez. We talked about Forret the other day in our Griffin trade package piece. His deep mix and feel for pitching makes him a safe bet to be a number 4 starter.
Antunez is a young infielder who is more of a lottery ticket. The 19 year old had an .829 OPS with more walks than strikeouts in the FCL. He just got promoted to Low-A, and seems like a prospect with plenty of helium. Antunez is a well rounded profile who can do a bit of everything, which the Nats seem to like. Overall, I think this is a fair return for Griffin, who is a rental.
One player who I do not think is going anywhere is CJ Abrams. Toboni will listen to offers, but in the end, I do not think he will pull the trigger. Boston may come close, but in the end, it just will not happen. Abrams just means too much to this team and this city. Unless the offer is just too good to refuse, a trade is not happening. In the end, I do not think Toboni gets that godfather offer he is looking for.
A trade could happen in the offseason, but I hope the two sides have real dialogue on an extension. With changes to the CBA coming, there is a chance extensions could be easier for teams to pull off in the new baseball world. For that reason, and the fact the Nats are not years away, I think they hold off on an Abrams trade.
Despite the losing lately, I still think the Nats pull off one buying move for a reliever. I am not that confident in this prediction, but I think the Nats land Sam Bachman of the Angels for Luke Dickerson and Yeremy Cabrera.
Bachman has not put everything together yet, but he has shown flashes of being a late inning weapon. The former top 10 pick has a 99 MPH sinker, but throws his filthy slider even more. He finishes off his arsenal with a changeup that gets a lot of whiffs against left handed pitching.
He is not a finished product yet, but Bachman has the potential to be a high leverage arm, and he has 4.5 years of control. Dickerson and Cabrera are two prospects with plenty of upside, but are still far from the majors. Cabrera was a smaller piece in the MacKenzie Gore trade. While the 21 year old had a ton of success in Low-A, High-A has been more of a challenge for him. Dickerson has big time offensive upside, but has been moving slowly since getting a monster bonus in the second round.
Cabrera is also Rule 5 eligible this offseason. It is a package that should intrigue the Angels for a reliever with promise but inconsistencies. This is also not really a package the Nats would feel much. Maybe it is a little bit too rich, but I am not the highest on either of those two prospects.
This should be a fun deadline with plenty of action. With Skubal going to LA last night, the floodgates have really opened. We are in for a big finish to the trade season. Let me know what you think will happen in the final hours before the trade deadline in the comments below.
