At the end of a 19-9 month of June, the Washington Nationals were two games above .500, in second place, 2.0 games out of first in the NL East. They fought their way back into the race in the division after starting the season 21-29 in April/May, but then a number of injury issues set the club back in July, and with the Nats 8-17 on the month as the trade deadline approached, the front office in D.C. decided it was time for a change.
“It’s a difficult decision to make,” GM Mike Rizzo explained after trading away seven players who were on expiring contracts (Max Scherzer, Brad Hand, Yan Gomes, Daniel Hudson, Kyle Schwarber, Josh Harrison, and Jon Lester), and one (Trea Turner) who had a year-plus of team control remaining before free agency, in return for 12 prospects he hopes will help reboot the organization after a decade of fielding competitive teams.