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Trade Targets: The Nationals had their fifth losing season in a row
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Photo credit: © Rafael Suanes - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Oct 30, 2024, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 30, 2024, 11:15 EDT
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The Washington Nationals are on the up and up.
After winning the 2019 World Series, the Nationals have missed the postseason five consecutive seasons, but things are improving. According to MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update, they have the 10th-best farm system in the league.
Moreover, they have a handful of players in arbitration that could be useful for the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that hopes to contend in 2025. But first, let’s look at how the Nationals’ season went in 2024.

A brief overview of the 2024 season for the Nationals

The Washington Nationals finished with a 71-91 record, sixth-last in Major League Baseball and third-last in the National League. Funnily enough, this was the same record they finished in 2023, and improvement in terms of win percentage in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The Nationals also had quite a few young players make their roster at one point or another in 2024.  Shortstop CJ Abrams (24) already made his big league debut before 2024, but fellow shortstop Nasim Nuñez and outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews also made their debut. The latter was selected second overall in the 2023 draft.
When the draft lottery rolls around in December, the Nationals have a 10.2% chance of landing the first overall pick. With that being said, let’s look at some Nationals players the Blue Jays could target this off-season.

Luis García Jr.

Second base isn’t necessarily an area that the Blue Jays need to upgrade this season, as they have a plethora of young players ready to fill the gap, such as Davis Schneider, Spencer Horwitz, Leo Jiménez, and plenty of others who can play the Keystone.
However, Luis García Jr. is likely the most realistic position player the Jays could acquire from the Nationals. Would García Jr. be the Blue Jays best second baseman? Well, the 24-year-old slashed .282/.318/.444 with a career-high 18 home runs in 528 plate appearances last season.  Moreover, he had a 5.1 BB% and a 16.3 K%, giving him a career-best 111 wRC+ and a 3.1 fWAR.
Defensively, García Jr. is a mixed bag at second base. He played 1086 innings at the Keystone, registering -5 Defensive Runs Saved, but a much better 5 Outs Above Average. For his career, he has -10 DRS and OAA in 3111.2 innings at second.
García Jr. is entering his second of four years of arbitration, meaning he’ll be a free agent after the 2027 season. According to MLB Trade Rumors, the 24-year-old is expected to make $4.8 million this season.

Derek Law

Remember Derek Law? The Blue Jays acquired him, Alen Hanson, and Juan De Paula, in early April 2019 from the San Francisco Giants for Kevin Pillar. Law was unremarkable with the Jays, pitching 60.2 innings with a 4.90 ERA and a 4.85 FIP. The right-handed pitcher’s strikeout rate was solid, 23.5%, but walked far too many batters with a 14 BB%
As is the case with many relievers, Law bounced around after the 2019 season, playing for the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Cincinnati Reds before landing with the Washington Nationals in 2024.
Law’s 2023 season with the Reds was solid, but the 33-year-old took it to a whole new gear in 2024, posting a 2.60 ERA and a 3.32 FIP in 90 innings pitched, with a 20.8 K% and a 6.6 BB%. The fastball improved a tick from his tenure with the Jays, but Law’s 2024 season came out of nowhere.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, Law is expected to make $3 million in arbitration this season. This is his third and final season of arbitration, meaning he’ll become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season.

Kyle Finnegan

There’s one thing Kyle Finnegan does, and that is eatting innings consistently while producing solid results.
This past season with the Nationals, the 33-year-old finished the season with a 3.68 ERA and a 4.25 FIP in 63.2 innings pitched. Throughout his career, he has a 3.56 ERA and a 4.24 FIP in 290.1 innings pitched, reaching between 63-69 innings pitched the past two seasons, with an ERA no higher than 3.76.
Although he averaged 97.4 mph with his fastball, he doesn’t strike out a ton of batters as he only had a 22.1 K% and an 8.9 BB%. Moreover, he picked up 38 saves, the third-most in the league behind Ryan Helsley and Emmanuel Clase, in 43 opportunities.
Finnegan is starting to get expensive for the Nationals, as he’s expected to make $8.6 million in arbitration this season according to MLB Trade Rumors. Like Law, Finnegan is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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