The Washington Nationals are clearly trade deadline sellers.
But how much are they willing to sell?
Sounds like the young core is staying put, which isn’t a surprise, but one specific detail is key: Lefty ace MacKenzie Gore is considered part of that group.
Gore is a bit older than the likes of James Wood, C.J. Abrams and Dylan Crews, and he has only a couple years of club control left.
But USA Today’s Bob Nightengale provided this update on Sunday:
“The Nationals say that their prized young core of James Wood, C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and Dylan Crews is staying put.”
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It does make a good amount of sense.
The Nats believed they were ready to take a big step forward this year, and that hasn’t happened.
But the core that made them believe that has mostly performed up to or above expectations. It’s the pieces around them who have struggled.
Washington still has team-building work to do, and in a front office that no longer includes Mike Rizzo. But keeping the stars around as a foundation seems to be the right call.
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