In the week since the trade deadline the Nationals have begun adapting to the new reality of playing games without their third and fourth best hitters, Louis Garcia and Curtis Mead, and their winningest pitcher, Foster Griffin. Just to up the challenge, James Wood has missed the last seven games with an oblique strain and won’t be back right away.
The Nats are now five games out of a wild card spot after two disastrous series against the Braves (0-4) and Phillies(1-3) on each side of the trade deadline, but a three game Nats sweep of the Reds this week showed that the postseason dreams of the first four months aren’t entirely over.
Garcia, Mead, and Griffin were traded for eight pitchers and one outfielder, filling the organizational need for pitching prospects to go with the promising young hitters in the Nationals minor league system. A farm system now ranked seventh best on the well-respected Fangraphs site! And remarkably the Nationals have expanded their lead over the Cubs as the top run-scoring team in the majors, 643-614. The runs just keep coming. So do the stolen bases, with 130 leading the majors as well.
Two young pitchers are getting their shot now: Andrew Alvarez, who has made nine starts, and Jackson Kent who has been impressing at AAA and is getting the call-up this week. Alvarez has been very good in 69 innings. His 3.76 ERA shows that being a 12th round pick is no obstacle to succeeding in the majors. There are definitely openings on the pitching staff for Alvarez and Kent if they continue to throw well.
Another young National getting his shot is Abimelec Ortiz, who was good enough in the minors that the team brought him up to replace Garcia at first base. So far so good after eight games; Ortiz has an .895 OPS.
The Nationals swept the Reds by scores of 5-3, 8-2, and 7-1. The Reds are not anyone’s idea of a postseason team this year but nonetheless, those were impressive wins. The Nats have consistently beaten the teams they are expected to beat, winning series after series, but they can’t rise to the occasion against the top teams on the schedule. Maybe that can change this week when they play the 69-50 Cubs in Chicago. A series win there would demonstrate that this season isn’t over and the new version of the Nationals can compete with the best teams on the schedule.
Overall the schedule favors the Nats the rest of the way. They have the 12th easiest based on opponents’ won-loss records. They need James Wood back as soon as possible but the 2026 Nats can definitely continue to beat expectations the rest of the way.
All photos coalminephotography.com
