Most players Nats traded didn't perform as hoped for new teams

The eight players the Nationals traded away during the final days of July all had value to their acquiring clubs, each of them believing those players would help lift them into the postseason and in some cases deep into October.

The Nats didn't just deal away anybody. They purposely traded veterans in the final year of their contracts (aside from one notable example who had two years to go until free agency) who would be appealing to contenders and could potentially make a real difference over the remainder of the season.

Thing is, other than the two superstars who went to Los Angeles and one slugger who went to Boston, those players didn't really help their new teams all that much. Most didn't even reach the postseason.

Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, to be sure, were huge additions for the Dodgers. Scherzer was a perfect 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 89-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 starts after the trade, and might win his fourth Cy Young Award because of it. Turner hit .338/.385/.565 with 17 doubles, 10 homers and 11 stolen bases in 52 games for L.A. and won his first batting title.

It wasn't quite the same story come October, with Scherzer memorably earning the save in Game 5 of the National League Division Series but then paying the price physically and being unable to take the ball for Game 6 of the NL Championship Series, and Turner batting only .216 with two RBIs, one steal, one walk and 12 strikeouts during the postseason.

The Dodgers certainly don't regret the trade, but their failure to reach the World Series did make the deal feel less impactful than they hoped at the time.

Kyle Schwarber did endear himself to Red Sox Nation, posting a .957 OPS in 41 regular season games and launching three Schwarbombs into the October night before ultimately falling to the Astros in the American League Championship Series.

But that's about it for positive performances from the traded players.

Daniel Hudson? He allowed 13 runs in 19 innings for the Padres, racking up a 5.21 ERA as his new club collapsed down the stretch to miss the postseason altogether.

Brad Hand? He was an unmitigated disaster in Toronto, getting released after allowing 10 runs in only 8 2/3 innings before getting picked up by the Mets and enjoying a bit more success (2.70 ERA in 11 appearances) but still suffering two blown saves.

The two guys traded to the Athletics? Yan Gomes batted a scant .221/.264/.366 in 40 games and allowed 14 of 17 runners to successfully steal off him in a complete reversal of his performance with the Nationals the previous four months. And Josh Harrison hit a pedestrian .254/.296/.341 in 48 games, producing minus-0.5 WAR for Oakland after giving the Nats 2.6 WAR in 90 games before the trade.

Finally, there was Jon Lester. His was the most surprising of all the trades, given his struggles in D.C. and the Cardinals' seemingly weak position in the pennant race at the time. The lefty's tenure in St. Louis started off horribly, with 11 runs allowed in his first 10 1/3 innings. But to his credit, he finished strong with a 3.15 ERA over his final eight starts, eating up important innings for a Cardinals club that did actually win a wild card berth (and a quick exit against the Dodgers).

The moral of the story? Deadline deals may look good on paper in the moment. But they don't always work out. Not that these players' eventual performances after the trades changes the Nationals' outlook about any of the moves they made. But there is perhaps a little bit of satisfaction in knowing they didn't just give away someone who would up leading his new team to a championship.