As the Washington Nationals pushed for a second-half advantage for the better part of the last decade, buying at the trade deadline steadily picked apart the organization’s farm system.
But with the Nationals seemingly out of playoff contention this season — and with several veterans on expiring contracts — general manager Mike Rizzo decided to revitalize the team’s prospect pool. That required trading away eight veterans for a haul of prospects who immediately improved the farm system.
According to MLB Pipeline’s rankings, 10 of the organization’s top 30-ranked prospects joined last week at the trade deadline — a display of the rapid rejuvenation of young talent into a team that in the past has shipped off such prospects for veterans in a win-now approach.