The Washington Nationals are just 48-hours from the 6pm ET trade deadline on Thursday. The team flew Zach Brzykcy to Houston in case a trade is completed before the start of today’s game. Tonight’s starting pitcher, Michael Soroka, is most likely making his final start in a Nationals uniform as he has been named in several trade deals.
The Nats only have 2-games with today’s game, and less than 2-days remaining until the trade deadline. Rumors are flying all over the internet on who will be traded. It is that time of year to be on “hug watch” in case any player gets traded mid-game. Obviously Amed Rosario has already been traded, and with Soroka, the other three names we keep hearing are Kyle Finnegan, Josh Bell, and MacKenzie Gore. We haven’t heard Nathaniel Lowe‘s name mentioned in a while for a trade scenario.
“I don’t know how we got there — but we got the W. … We did the little things better than they did.”
— Miguel Cairo said after yesterday’s game
The bullpen usage looks like this:
Here are your Nats’ WAR leaders with James Wood at +3.3, MacKenzie Gore at +2.8 CJ Abrams at +2.9, and . Add those up, and you get a total of +9.0 WAR. The issue is the large gap between those players and the next tier.
On defense, the OAA stats give you a good picture of the team’s overall defense which is the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good news is that besides Nathaniel Lowe, the defense under interim-manager Miguel Cairo has drastically improved. All of a sudden, Luis Garcia Jr. looks Gold Glove in the month of July.
These are your stats leaders on BBRef. There are certainly some surprises on there — good and not so good. The issue is the consistency on this team.
“I just wanted to give [James Wood] a little bit of a break, more mentally. I told him to come in on the last bus so he can relax, chill-out and just have a chill day.”
— Cairo said after yesterday’s game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.73 and 26th best in MLB. You might be surprised at the team just ahead of the Nationals in the rankings. The reliever’s ERA sits at a 5.57 and now the worst in baseball in ERA.
Here is how the starters rank by ERA:
No. 5 Starter: Brad Lord 3.27 (starting/relieving)
No. 4 Starter: Michael Soroka 4.85
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 4.91
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.69
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.52
Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros
Stadium: Daikin Park, Houston, Texas
1st Pitch: 8:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN2
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app; In Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 89 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
