The Atlanta Braves have held a strong lead in the NL East for quiet awhile now. However, that doesn’t mean their rival counterparts would stand pat at the trade deadline and concede the division crown to Atlanta. Each team made moves, albeit some in different directions. Let’s take a look at how each team did.
Washington Nationals: C-
The team at the basement of the NL East was they only team expected to be selling coming into the 2023 season. That held true in the seasons first half, as the Nationals have had a tough time winning ballgames.
As you could imagine a team with as poor a win-loss record as Washington isn’t exactly littered with talent to sell at the trade deadline. That being said, Washington did move infielder Jeimer Candelario to the Cubs for prospects, DJ Herz and Kevin Made.
Herz is a young left-handed starter that possesses a really strong changeup. He has pretty good stuff, but can struggle at times repeating his mechanics and throwing enough strikes. Kevin Made is a 20 year-old Dominican born shortstop. Early reports have him as a above-average defender with potential for power down the line. Both prospects rank right in the middle of their top 30.
Both Herz and Made net a pretty solid return for Candelario, who was having a career year and has gotten off to a scorching start with the Cubbies. The grade could have been higher had GM Mike Rizzo decided to move outfielder Lane Thomas at the deadline as well.
Thomas is having a career year as well (career high 112 wRC+ as of today) and absolutely crushing left-handed pitching with a .356/.401/.629 slash line against southpaws. However, it was reported that the Nationals were shopping Thomas as an everyday player rather than a platoon bat, thus the reason no team met their asking price.