Nationals' loss a speed bump in their quest for Wild Card contention 

DENVER – Whether the Nationals are buyers or sellers at the Trade Deadline on Aug. 3 has a lot to do with the results of the games played over the next two weeks.

The Nats are 51-51 following an 8-7 loss to the Rockies on Tuesday night. They are 1 1/2 games back in the close NL Wild Card race behind the Pirates, D-backs, Cardinals and Marlins. On this date last year, the Nats were 32-45 and 14 games back.

“It stings,” manager Blake Butera said. “These losses aren't fun by any means – no matter what our record is – where we're at in the season. ... We've talked about it. These guys all know where we're at in the year with the Trade Deadline looming, of course. They know they have a chance in front of them to make a run at this thing or, if we slip back, it could mean something different.”

The Nationals swapped leads with the Rockies throughout Tuesday night. They were tied, 7-7, entering the eighth inning, when Clayton Beeter gave up a go-ahead, 95.4 mph solo home run to Hunter Goodman. The Nationals suffered their 14th last-at-bat loss of the year. They are 13-13 in one-run games.

“These guys want to win, and they're frustrated right now,” said Butera. “You can feel it – how badly they want to win – in the dugout. At the end of the day, when you're playing meaningful baseball games this late in the season, there's a lot to be said for that, and there's lots to be learned from that.”

The Nationals have worked their way into Wild Card contention in their first season with Butera as manager and Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations. They have made a drastic turnaround from finishing last in the NL East for five of the past six seasons.

With that success comes a potentially different approach to the Trade Deadline. Since 2021, the Nationals have been in sell mode. Players signed to one-year deals were trade chips, and those on expiring deals were prime candidates to be moved. Oftentimes, veterans were swapped for packages of prospects.

This season, though, the Nationals' best pitcher is on an expiring contract. All-Star left-hander Foster Griffin signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal in his return from three seasons in Japan. He has become one of baseball’s most reliable starters at 11-2 with a 2.68 ERA. Rather than being a lock for a trade, Griffin has become a candidate for an extension.

The longest tenured member of the Nationals, first baseman Luis García Jr., also has emerged as a potential trade chip in the midst of his best career season. García, 26, began getting hot last month. He is slashing .324/.366/.724 in his last 30 games – and he has one year of club control left.

Shortstop CJ Abrams entered the season having been the topic of trade buzz all winter. He was already enticing being under club control through 2028, and he has enhanced his appeal in his second All-Star season. Abrams has hit a career-high 24 home runs (including two on Tuesday) and is atop several statistical categories for his position.

“We know that we are in it, and that we can hopefully get a Wild Card spot,” said Abrams. “But just take it day by day, and get as many wins as we can.”

There are just under two weeks and a lot of baseball to be played before the Trade Deadline. In a Wild Card race where every pitch, every swing of the bat matters, the Nationals understand what is at stake during this stretch.

“It’s up to the front office for them to decide whether we're buyers or sellers, technically, and what that looks like,” Butera said on Monday. “But our job here in the clubhouse, on the field is just to try to go win every single game and make the decision point easier and maybe more clear for them.

“But also, these guys love being around each other. They want to stay together. At the end of the day, we want to play playoff baseball here, and that's why these games are important.”