Too Little, Too Late. Why the Nationals Waited Way Too Long to Trade Their Assets

Two days ago, the Washington Nationals officially phoned it in by trading away two of their more important players; Matt Adams and Daniel Murphy. Its not a clear move toward the future, as neither of the trades really yielded much in return outside of a few no-name players and  small compensation. They could have gotten more, though, but they simply waited too long. Waiver trades never acquire as much as trades at the July 31 deadline, as teams have generally either filled the wholes they were missing or else given up entirely. These players could easily have gotten them more, but that isn't even the biggest missed opportunity.

A year ago, the Nationals could easily have gotten a king's ransom for their superstar outfielder, Bryce Harper. Now, acquiring a rental like him would not be nearly worth what a team would have to give up. It just wouldn't make sense to give up so much for one player who will be a free agent at the end of 2018. Now the Nationals are going to have to watch as he moves to some other big city, leaving behind nothing but the nightmarish five-year stint where they managed without fail to be disappointing in each season.

The Oriole's got it right. Immediately after the all-star break, the traded their best player, 2018 free-agent Manny Machado, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a slew of prospects, including Yusniel Diaz, who is now the top prospect of Baltimore's organization.  It will take time, but they managed to turn their best player, who was absolutely not going to resign into a major building block in their future. The Nationals could maybe have gotten more. They could easily have managed to snag high quality prospects like the Yankee's pitcher Justus Sheffield. Instead, they got nothing to boost their already weak farm-system, which means that Washington will probably take a pretty deep slide after this season.

Their lack of moves will probably be one of the worst things that the National's organization of all time. They have given up on their chances at this season, which will probably leave them without much of a chance at resigning Bryce. Without Harper and a decent farm-system, it seems very unlikely that they will be able to turn themselves into contenders for at least half a decade, and it could easily take longer.