PHILADELPHIA — The Washington Nationals are in a healthier spot now than they were two weeks ago, before they traded Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox for Connelley Early. 

They planned to add pitchers, and got nine of them back across four deals. They didn’t want to blow up the roster unless they were blown away, and stuck to that. And… I also think they should have done a bit more. 

How did the Nationals, buyers in bulk, do in their first trade deadline under president of baseball operations Paul Toboni?

It’s a B+, for me. Here’s how I evaluate the moving parts:

The best things they did

They did the most important thing: Which is to say they acquired a controllable starter who can take the ball in October. The Early deal, to me, is an A. He has five years of control after this one. Early and Cade Cavalli give the Nats two October-ready starters, with some high-upside arms in the minor leagues in waiting. This acquisition carries the grade here.

They (maybe) didn’t kill the vibe: Which does not mean that the visitor’s clubhouse at Citizen’s Bank Park is in a state of nirvana right now. It is a less optimistic clubhouse on Aug. 3 than it was a week ago, but the Nationals held on to CJ Abrams, which is the biggest thing they needed to do to keep the vibes from spiraling.

They have a shot to make the postseason in 2027: Which is not something I would have said on Opening Day. I have thought the Nats should sell more than they buy, given how much long-term help they (appear) to need on the mound. But nothing they did, to me, nullifies a postseason run next year, and there is real value to that.

They traded Foster Griffin: Which is only a win if they spend money on a starter in free agency. Holding on to Griffin, especially after a recent skid, would have been a risk. While I think the world of Griffin and his ability to outperform peripherals, moving on lets the Nats be more fluid in free agency.

The so-so things they did

They held on to Abrams: Which gives me mixed feelings. On one hand, the Nats still have two stars on the roster. Still — at least on paper, though I’ve been told the game is not played on that — they had an opportunity to extend the length of their eventual World Series window by trading a down-ballot MVP candidate with two years of control after this one. This doesn’t rule out a trade this winter, either, which is noteworthy because Abrams’ value could be at its peak right now.

They traded Luis García Jr. to the Yankees and Foster Griffin to the Guardians for bulk rather than a premium prospect: Which, in a vacuum, filled a desperate need for arms and upside relievers. Those two players netted seven pitchers. From a total value standpoint, it was the sort of package that I expected. But several evaluators I talked to said they were surprised the Nats did not get a premium prospect back for García, one of the best bats on the market. 

I’d knock them for

Holding too high of a bar on some of their players: Which is something you hear about almost every organization around this time. But many of its top executives are also relatively new to the pro acquisition space, and we heard this far too often for it to be nothing. Myabe it helped them in the end. But when the bar is so unreasonable that it turns teams away from discussions, I’m given at least a little bit of pause. 

Not trading more from their surplus of infield prospects: Which strikes me as a missed opportunity. I believe the Nats were wise to sell more than they bought. But we also know they shopped some of their position player prospect depth around… and, among prospects, they only moved Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin. It would have been savvy to make more prospect for prospect trade, in my estimation, to add more pitching prospects or hitting prospects that they feel more equipped to develop.

It’s buy, sell, hold time for real baseball teams, so we’ll get in on the fun here. Here are some of the more notable names that changed uniforms this week. I’m not doing a full writeup on Tarik Skubal, but my spidey sense says that an otherworldly ace on baseball’s best team should work out OK. Though actually, if you want the galaxy brain take, maybe you sell him for a massive haul in head-to-head leagues with playoffs because the Dodgers might start messing with his innings at the end of the season to get ready for their playoff run. Or just be a normal person and hold your ace. On to the rest!

Buy

Kevin Gausman, CHC

I listed Gausman as a hold not too long ago on the theory that he’d strand a few more runners and get his ERA into the high-3s range going forward. Now he’s pitching in front of the best defense in the game, and he should have a better shot at wins. He’s had a rough stretch recently, but I think he’ll be 12-team relevant going forward.

Dustin May, SP, MIL

May has quietly had an excellent season, despite starting the year with a couple of blowups and suffering two more at the end of June and start of July. In his past 12 starts, despite the rough outings, he’s delivered ace peripherals: a 28% strikeout rate, a 7.9% walk rate, and 2.58 FIP. Now he heads to one of the sport’s best teams, which tends to get great results from its pitchers. I question whether he can keep up the strikeout rate without missing more bats, but that’s the sort of issue I worry about more year-to-year than in-season. He should get a regular spot in the Brewers’ rotation and could end up as their second starter in the playoffs.

Freddy Peralta, SP, TBR

I’m optimistic about Peralta, especially compared to what he’s done so far this year, but the Rays didn’t buy him to keep doing what he’s been doing, and neither will your leaguemates. Depending on your league, he might be on the wire or surprisingly expensive. He’s a buy here because the track record is excellent, and he hasn’t lost any velocity. The Rays have a reputation for getting great results out of good stuff. Presumably they see something to work with here. The weird part is that Peralta’s stuff has been down across the board this year, and it hasn’t been any better in his recent starts. The trade gives you something to dream on, but don’t pay full price for that dream.

Kade Anderson, SP, SEA

It’s time, right? The trade of Luis Castillo opens a spot in the Mariners’ rotation, and out of a sense of decency for opposing hitters in Double A, the Mariners should bring up the sport’s top pitching prospect. With Emerson Hancock and Bryce Miller, they still have a good starting five, but the guess here is that one of them becomes a long-reliever and Anderson makes his debut soon. You never know how a player will fare in their first look at The Show, but Anderson has ace-level stuff.

Sell

José Soriano, SP, TOR

I don’t like this one for the Blue Jays. Part of it is that they’re paying for two months in a season that isn’t especially meaningful for them (this is a next year and beyond trade for them), but the other part is that I’m not that into Soriano right now. His Stuff+ has tumbled in his past 10 starts to 93 (from 102 in the dozen starts before then), partly due to him losing a tick on his fastball. The results tell a similar story. He remains excellent at inducing grounders, and he still gets strikeouts, but he gives up too many walks, and the stuff downturn has coincided with worse results on batted balls. He still logs plenty of good starts, but I don’t trust him.

Robbie Ray, SP, SDP

I don’t see too much to work with here, now that the K rate is barely above 20%, but Ray has an ERA of 1.09 over his past seven starts. He’s mostly achieving that by not giving up home runs and stranding lots of runners. I’m willing to give him a little bit of wily veteran credit — maybe he’s figured out how to keep hitters off balance with his limited stuff — but I can’t bet on him to keep this up.

Taylor Ward, OF, SEA

Ward’s power has taken a big step back this year, and I don’t expect that to change in Seattle. He has managed to compensate by turning into a walks machine, so he still plays in OBP leagues, but that’s about it. I also wonder if he will get regular time against righties or if he’s mostly a short-side platoon now. The Mariners have gotten good results out of their hitter acquisitions recently, but I’ll believe it when I see it here.

Luis Castillo, SP, CHW

I’m not sure if there’s a buyer on the other end here, but if there is, go ahead and sell. Nothing has been working for Castillo this year, and moving out of a pitcher’s park won’t help. If you want some hope to reach for, he managed a pretty good season last year with similar Stuff+, Location+, and Pitching+ numbers. You can fish for wins with favorable matchups, but he’ll always be a ratios risk.

Hold

Jo Adell, OF, CLE

I wished for a change of scenery for Adell, and the baseball gods must have been listening. Unfortunately, it’s a park downgrade for homers, and homers are why you have Adell. Cleveland is also one of the few landing spots where Adell doesn’t get lineup improvement, but I’m just excited to have his raw ability with a different set of coaches. As noted last week, he has probably deserved better results than what he’s had so far.

Luis García, 1B, NYY

Have you read “Thinking, Fast and Slow”? It’s good, and here’s the book’s main thesis in action: I hear “hitter traded from the Nationals to the Yankees,” and the fast part of my brain immediately says “upgrade.” Better park, better lineup. Then the slow part of my brain catches up and asks, “Wait, are either of those true?” The answer is “no” in almost every way.

The Nationals’ offense has been one of baseball’s big surprises this year, partly due to García, but more so the mega seasons of CJ Abrams and James Wood. Since Aaron Judge went down on May 31, the Yankees have the worst team wOBA in MLB, and the Nationals have the best. As for the parks, they’re both about neutral on the whole, but Yankee Stadium does play better for left-handed power. García remains a good platoon bat, but don’t expect more than what he’s done.

Luis Arraez, 2B, PHI

Arraez is now a Phillie, which should be great for his counting stats. He’s also headed to a much better hitter’s park for righties. That’s obviously a positive, though one that’s partly muted by Arraez’s low-end power. While it’s certainly possible that the move takes his excellent season to a new level, I think it’s more likely that it helps Arraez maintain his output. His counting stats, despite coming from a patchy Giants lineup, have been on the best pace of his career, other than homers. He’s been outperforming his expected stats by a healthy margin, and the change in venue may offset the likely regression by leading to a few more home runs.

Additionally, Arraez has minimal platoon splits and plays good defense. The team is expected to install him at second base, with Bryson Stott moving to third and Alec Bohm shifting across the diamond to first base. That means Bryce Harper is heading to the outfield. Given all their options to work with, the team might find him more rest for Arraez than he was getting, but not much more. He’s there to play.