Nats net pair of prospects for Hudson

July 30th, 2021

WASHINGTON -- As the Nationals near a blockbuster deal to send Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers for prospects, they parted ways with another veteran arm to acquire two young talents.

Early Friday morning, the Nats announced the trade of right-hander to the Padres in exchange for righty Mason Thompson and infielder Jordy Barley. Thompson enters the Nationals’ top 30 prospect list ranked No. 13 and Barley is ranked No. 23, per MLB Pipeline.

Thompson was 3-2 with a 5.74 ERA and seven saves over 26 2/3 innings (24 games) with Triple-A El Paso this season. He also appeared in three frames for the Padres, who selected him in the third round of the 2016 Draft. The 23-year-old is listed as ​​6-foot-7, 223 pounds.

Barley hit .240/.333/.388 with 58 hits, 28 RBIs, eight home runs and 43 runs scored for Low-A Lake Elsinore this season. He led all Padres Minor Leaguers with 33 stolen bases. The 21-year-old signed with San Diego as an international free agent in 2016.

As the Nationals welcomed in new prospects, the image of Hudson recording the final out of the 2019 World Series will be a permanent fixture in team history. The 34-year-old was 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA and 16 saves across 76 games for the Nats since being traded to Washington from Toronto in July of 2019.

The Nationals spent much of Thursday and into Friday -- the day of the 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline -- swapping out coveted vets for prospects to bolster their Minor League system. They also traded closer Brad Hand to the Blue Jays for Minor League catcher Riley Adams (Washington’s new No. 10 prospect) and the Nats dealt left fielder Kyle Schwarber to the Red Sox for right-hander Aldo Ramirez (new No. 8 prospect).