Most significant stories of 2021: Trade deadline teardown

As we reach the end of the year, we've been taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them were uplifting. Some of them were depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We conclude today with the most significant story of them all: the dismantling of the roster at the trade deadline. ...

The Nationals' season lasted six months, and over the course of those six months, there were countless stories and developments of consequence. But when you really boil it all down, the definitive story of 2021 on South Capitol Street took place over the course of 28 frantic hours in late July.

On the morning of July 29, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison, Brad Hand, Daniel Hudson and Jon Lester all were members of the Nationals organization. By late afternoon on July 30, none were anymore.

The dismantling of the Nats roster at the trade deadline was unlike anything this club had ever experienced since arriving in town in 2005. Sure, there were years in which players were dealt away. But never players of such consequence, and never in numbers as large as this.

To be honest, few major league clubs have ever torn down a roster as quickly and calculatingly as the Nationals did this summer. All the more remarkable: General manager Mike Rizzo didn't even know he was going to do it until a few days prior.

A spectacular June surge led by Schwarber's historic home run barrage seemed to have turned the team's season around. The Nationals entered July with a winning record and momentum. By the end of the month, they were in disarray.

The following events all took place in July 2021:

* Schwarber suffered a major hamstring strain.

* Turner injured his finger sliding into third base while completing the third cycle of his career.

* Alex Avila strained both of his calf muscles playing second base in an emergency.

* Gomes strained an oblique muscle.

* Scherzer blew an 8-0 lead in San Diego, giving up a grand slam to an opposing relief pitcher.

* Starlin Castro was accused of domestic violence and placed on administrative leave.

* Stephen Strasburg suffered a setback in his attempted recovery from a neck injury and needed season-ending thoracic outlet surgery.

* A game was suspended after a shooting took place outside Nationals Park, sending terrified fans fleeing for cover.

* Hand blew three saves and was charged with three losses.

* Turner was removed from a game in the first inning after being told he had tested positive for COVID-19. The following day, three teammates and nine staff members learned they had tested positive as well.

What was the end result of all that? An 8-18 record in July, the franchise's worst month since June 2010. And the realization by Rizzo and ownership that this team was in no position to turn it all around over the final two months, nor was it in any position to keep the roster together heading into 2022 and expect to return to contention.

"We got everything out of this group that we could've gotten out of it, and we reached the highest level," Rizzo said shortly after 4 p.m. on July 30. "For 10 straight years, we've competed with the best and brightest in baseball. We were as good as anybody in the game. We won four division titles. We made the playoffs five times. We won the World Series with this group. There's no shame in having to take a step back, refocus, reboot and start the process again, and that's what we're preparing to do."

So it was that Rizzo made an astounding six trades sending eight veterans in exchange for 12 prospects over the course of those final 28 hours leading up to the deadline.

The roster that remained bore little resemblance to the one that won the World Series only 21 months earlier. Juan Soto, Ryan Zimmerman, Patrick Corbin, Victor Robles, Joe Ross, Tanner Rainey, Wander Suero and Gerardo Parra were the only survivors from the championship roster, with Strasburg still employed but on the injured list.

In their place were a hodgepodge of newcomers. Some in-house prospects like Carter Kieboom and Luis García. Some newly acquired prospects like Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray, Lane Thomas and Mason Thompson. Some recently added veterans like Alcides Escobar and Sean Nolin. Some career minor leaguers like Paolo Espino and Yadiel Hernandez.

That revamped roster fared even worse than the one that was torn down. The Nats went 7-20 in August, the third-worst month in club history, then 10-21 down the stretch to finish with 97 losses, their most since 2009.

Amid the carnage, though, were some glimpses of a promising future. Ruiz looked like a foundational catcher. Gray had more impressive starts than disappointing ones. Thomas surprisingly seized the center field job away from Robles. And, of course, Soto remained the best offensive player in baseball.

This is what the Nationals' next generation will look like. It's not nearly enough to return to contention, but it's a start. And it wouldn't have been possible without the July sell-off.

That decision, as upsetting as it was in the moment, was made because the front office believed it needed to be made. It will take several years to learn if it was the right decision or not, but the Nats felt it was the right one at that time.

It left a bad taste in everyone's mouths, and turned 2021 into the saddest year in Nationals history. But if it leads to sweeter days ahead, it may just be forgiven.