The trade market can be utilized to add a missing piece to a contender or overhaul an organization. Over the years, the Nationals have done both. MLB.com looks at the 10 trades with the biggest impact in Nationals history (2005-present):
1. The Soto Blockbuster
Nats got: SS CJ Abrams, LHP MacKenzie Gore, OF James Wood, OF Robert Hassell III, RHP Jarlin Susana, 1B/DH Luke Voit
Padres got: OF Juan Soto, 1B Josh Bell
Date: Aug. 3, 2022
In a deal that rocked the baseball landscape, the Nationals traded Soto to the Padres with 2 1/2 years of team control remaining on his contract. Soto had turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract extension, and, weeks later, the club dealt him to San Diego for a prized package of young players and prospects to rebuild organizational depth. Abrams and Wood became multiple-time All-Stars with the Nationals, and the club flipped Gore to the Rangers in January 2026 for … another package of prospects.
2. Megatrade at the Deadline
Nats got: C Keibert Ruiz, RHP Josiah Gray, RHP Gerardo Carrillo, OF Donovan Casey
Dodgers got: RHP Max Scherzer, SS Trea Turner
Date: July 30, 2021
This blockbuster deal marked the beginning of the Nationals’ new direction two years after winning the World Series. The Nats traded two centerpiece All-Stars for top prospects to build around in the future. The decision to move Scherzer was not unexpected, given that he was in the final year of his contract, and the Nationals -- who were struggling in the standings at the time -- could receive high value for him to help beyond the 2021 season. The inclusion of Turner was more head-turning because of the remaining years on his deal. The Nats’ acquisitions from the Dodgers were highlighted by the promising young battery of Ruiz and Gray.
3. Coming in for the steal
Nats got: SS Trea Turner, RHP Joe Ross
Padres got: 1B/OF Wil Myers
Rays got: OF Steven Souza Jr.
Date: Dec. 19, 2014
There were several other Minor Leaguers involved, but these were the main pieces. The Nats, the third team added to the trade, received a future All-Star in Turner, as well as a starting pitcher in Ross. Both went on to play key roles in the Nationals’ World Series championship in 2019. Just as acquiring Turner in ‘14 was integral to Washington’s success, the team included Turner as part of a megadeal to acquire prospects for their future seven years later.
4. The Gio Gonzalez trade
Nats got: LHP Gio Gonzalez, RHP Robert Gilliam
A's got: RHPs Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole, C Derek Norris, LHP Tommy Milone
Date: Dec. 23, 2011
For about a year, the Nationals searched for another established starting pitcher and they ended up acquiring a lefty who would become one of the foundations of their rotation. Gonzalez lasted seven seasons in D.C., as he collected 86 wins and started the Nats' first postseason game in 2012. He left with the fifth-most Wins Above Replacement (21.3) of any player in Nationals history.
5. Surprise aggression
Nats got: OF Adam Eaton
White Sox got: RHP Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo López
Date: Dec. 8, 2016
This will go down as Washington's most aggressive move, as it moved three top pitching prospects to get Eaton -- a gamble for a player who, while highly regarded, had never made an All-Star team. But the Nats had high hopes for Eaton and liked his favorable contract. He became their starting right fielder and a spark plug on their World Series run in 2019, appearing in 310 games in four seasons before departing in free agency.
6. Badly needed relief
Nats got: LHP Sean Doolittle, RHP Ryan Madson
A's got: RHP Blake Treinen, LHP Jesús Luzardo, INF Sheldon Neuse
Date: July 16, 2017
The 2017 Nationals were a legitimate World Series contender in the first half, with a bullpen that threatened to torpedo those chances if they did not fix it. Doolittle and Madson were instant successes as lockdown relievers late in games. Doolittle became an All-Star in 2018 and was a key member of the World Series championship bullpen in ’19. One of the biggest Nats fan favorites, Doolittle joined the coaching staff after retirement from playing.
7. Diamond in the rough
Nats got: RHPs Tanner Roark and Ryan Tatusko
Rangers got: INF Cristian Guzman
Date: July 30, 2010
This is perhaps one of the biggest steals of general manager Mike Rizzo's career, as he added a late bloomer in Roark -- who was a major part of the Nats for six seasons -- in exchange for the final 15 games of Guzman's career. A 93-loss Washington team was looking to shed Guzman's contract at the Trade Deadline and ended up acquiring a fixture for its starting rotation.
8. Closing in on a closer
Nats got: RHP Daniel Hudson
Blue Jays got: RHP Kyle Johnston
Date: July 31, 2019
In 2019, Hudson went from being released by the Angels in March to being signed days later by the Blue Jays to being traded from there to the Nationals in July to recording the final out of the World Series in October. With the Nats, the veteran leader was 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA and 16 saves across 76 relief appearances before being dealt to the Padres at the ’21 Trade Deadline.
9. The Buffalo
Nats got: C Wilson Ramos, LHP Joe Testa
Twins got: RHP Matt Capps
Date: July 29, 2010
Another Trade Deadline deal that worked out in Washington's favor, as it turned a few months of a rental closer in Capps into the club's starting backstop for parts of seven seasons. Ramos put together some of the best offensive seasons by a catcher in team history and was beloved by Nats fans as "The Buffalo."
10. The Papelbon trade
Nats got: RHP Jonathan Papelbon
Phillies got: RHP Nick Pivetta
Date: July 28, 2015
While this is a trade many fans wish the Nats could have back, it is certainly one of the biggest and most impactful in club history. Looking to boost the bullpen, Rizzo acquired Papelbon to replace Drew Storen as closer down the stretch in 2015, which infamously ended in the dugout implosion where Papelbon put his hands around the neck of soon-to-be National League MVP Bryce Harper.
A trade to keep an eye on …
Toboni’s first trade
Nationals receive: SS Gavin Fien, RHP Alejandro Rosario, INF Devin Fitz-Gerald, OF Yeremy Cabrera and 1B/OF Abimelec Ortiz.
Rangers got: LHP MacKenzie Gore
Date: Jan. 22, 2026
In Paul Toboni’s first major trade as president of baseball operations, the Nationals sent their 2025 Opening Day starter Gore to the Rangers in exchange for a massive prospect return. Ortiz made his Major league debut in 2026, while Fien and Fitz-Gerald are two of the organization’s top prospects.