Did the Washington Nationals quietly win the 2025 Trade Deadline? Let’s break it down, and begin with some background. During one of the wildest stretches in franchise history, the Washington Rizzo fired GM Mike Rizzo, and replaced him with Mike DeBartolo as the interim GM. The Washington flipped six veterans players of which five were going to be free agents. In return, DeBartolo received back 10 prospects at the trade deadline. Only one has debuted so far, but the rest form one of the deeper prospect returns the Nats have had in years.

There were two pending free agents who were not traded, and the Nats retained both Josh Bell and Nathaniel Lowe. A few weeks later, the Nats designated Lowe for assignment and the Red Sox picked him up when Lowe declared himself as a free agent. The Nats traded Alex Call who was the only player with multiple years of team control remaining. In addition, DeBartolo traded Amed Rosario, Andrew Chafin, Luis García (the reliever), Kyle Finnegan, and Michael Soroka.

Here’s a quick recap, and the grading for each trade is embedded in the graphic ⬇️

— Amed Rosario → Yankees
Got back Clayton Beeter (already helping the MLB bullpen with a filthy slider) and Browm Martinez, a long-term OF project who could re-start after an injury in the Dominican Summer League.

— Andrew Chafin + Luis García → Angels
Return: Sam Brown, who mashed at Double-A, and Jake Eder, a lefty with MLB time who will fight for a spot in 2026. Eder is on the Nats 40-man roster.

— Alex Call → Dodgers
Got two intriguing arms: Sean Paul Liñan (dominant in AFL until he was injured) and Eriq Swan, a big-strikeout, but a high-walk project. You obviously wanted more for Call, this will certainly be a trade to revisit.

— Kyle Finnegan → Tigers
Return: R.J. Sales, one of the most promising low-level pitchers in the system, plus Josh Randall.

— Michael Soroka → Cubs
Return: Christian Franklin, who forced his way onto the 40-man, and Ronny Cruz, a young raw infielder with upside.

Did the Nats “win” the deadline? In fairness, it is difficult to judge trades in the short-term. But every player except for Call was going to head to free agency. If these were the best offers, DeBartolo did good. For the long-term, they might’ve added multiple future contributors — exactly what a rebuilding team needs. Time will tell the full story.

Some of these prospects acquired at the trade deadline made the Nats Top-30 prospects list at MLB Pipeline. Franklin is the No. 12 prospect, and he was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule-5 draft. Liñan is the No. 14 prospect and came through the Call trade. At No. 16 is Cruz who came from the Soroka trade. At No. 17 is Swan who came with Liñan in the Call trade. That’s four prospects in the Top-20 from those trades plus Beeter who is already contributing at the MLB level. Randall at No. 28 came over in the Finnegan trade.

Before you get too excited, rankings are very subjective. And in a better farm system, a player like Randall wouldn’t make the Top-30. There are obviously other chances to get prospects via the Rule-5 draft and through waiver claims and minor league free agent signings.

After the season the Nats signed infielder Orelvis Martinez as a minor league free agent and MLB Pipeline placed him at No. 19. Martinez had originally signed with the Blue Jays for $3.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2018. He led the Minor Leagues with 86 home runs between the 2021 and 2023 seasons, topping out with 30 for Double-A New Hampshire in his age-20 season of 2022, and he pushed his way to the Majors for one game on June 21, 2024 after a solid start at Triple-A Buffalo. He was then suspended 80 games after testing positive for the banned substance Clomiphene and released on September 15 and signed a week later by the Nationals on a minor league deal. A no-risk signing at this point, but with that suspension, you have to be cautious.

Another interesting tidbit from TalkNats is on Swan who the Nats received him from the Dodgers in the Call trade. Swan was the Qualifying Offer compensation pick that the Dodgers received when Trea Turner signed with the Phillies after the 2022 season.

What do you think: W -or- L for Washington? Drop your grade in the comments ⬇️

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