Most significant stories of 2024: Trade deadline

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2024. We continue the series today by looking at the moves the Nats did and did not make at the trade deadline …

For much of a decade, the Nationals used the trade deadline to add to their major league roster in order to compete for a World Series championship. Of course, they reached that goal in 2019. But at the cost of their farm system.

In the years since, general manager Mike Rizzo has used the deadline to rebuild the farm system by trading major league talent for minor league prospects.

It started with Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and a host of others in 2021. Juan Soto and Josh Bell netted a historic return in 2022. And then Jeimer Candelario was used to acquire two more young players, one of whom played a big role in the starting rotation this year, in 2023.

But what about 2024?

The Nationals were one game under .500 and near a Wild Card spot in late June. Some thought maybe they should add at the deadline to try to make a run at the playoffs much earlier than expected.

Rizzo had a lot of options in July. He had some obvious candidates – some on expiring deals and some with more years of control. And he had a reloaded farm system with prospects.

In the end, Rizzo resisted the temptation to make a run at October and after making only one deal in 2023, he flipped four players before the deadline

The most crafty move the Nats made was trading Hunter Harvey two weeks before the deadline to the Royals for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and Competitive Balance A pick in this year’s draft.

That deal, which became official the night before the draft, was mostly about the extra pick, which the Nats used to select Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita at 39th overall.

Harvey was limited to just six appearances and a 6.35 ERA over the last 2 ½ months of the season with the Royals. Wallace, who also dealt with injuries this year, and Lomavita immediately became top-10 prospects in the Nats system.

Then Rizzo dealt from the surplus of outfielders he had thanks to the emergence of James Wood and pending arrival of Dylan Crews.

Jesse Winker was dealt to the Mets for right-hander Tyler Stuart. Winker helped the Mets make a run to the National League Championship Series. Stuart pitched to a 2.08 ERA with 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings with Double-A Harrisburg and reached Triple-A Rochester before season’s end.

In perhaps the most surprising move, fan-favorite Lane Thomas was dealt to the Guardians for infielder José Tena and minor leaguers Alex Clemmey and Rafael Ramirez Jr.

Thomas struggled at first in Cleveland, but then became a postseason hero. Tena received significant playing time with the Nats while displaying impressive offensive potential. Clemmey is now considered one of the top pitching prospects in the system and Ramirez adds more infield depth.

And at the 11th hour, Rizzo was able to trade Dylan Floro to the Diamondbacks (who the Nats actually happened to be playing in Arizona) for designated hitter/first baseman Andrés Chaparro. Floro pitched to a 9.37 ERA in 15 appearances with the D-backs while Chaparro became a late-season producer in the middle of the Nats order.

But this deadline may also be remembered for what the Nationals did not do.

Kyle Finnegan may have been Rizzo’s biggest trade chip this year. He entered deadline day with 28 saves in 32 attempts, a 3.48 ERA (it was actually more than a full run lower just a week earlier) and 1.091 WHIP in 46 appearances. And like Harvey and Thomas, he was under control for another full year.

But as was the case in 2023, Rizzo fielded calls on Finnegan but didn’t bite on any offers.

"I'm happy to be a National, and we can put this behind us and focus on winning games," said Finnegan after the deadline passed with him still a National. "I was at peace with whatever happened. But I'm happy to be here."

"This guy pitches at the back of a baseball game. He's proven that he can handle the closer's role," Rizzo said. "I don't think we were asking for anything extravagant, but we did want market value for a closer that has another year of control. That had a lot to do with it. We weren’t handcuffed or forced to move a player because his contract’s expiring or financial ramifications. We like this player. We think that he's going to help us this year and next year."

Finnegan wasn’t the same after that, though. He posted a 6.43 ERA in his final 21 games of the season for yet another disappointing second half.

The thought process to not trade Finnegan was sound. The Nats had one of the best closers in the league under contract for the back end of the bullpen in 2025. And after dealing Harvey and Floro, they needed someone to close out games in August and September.

But it became more confusing after the season when the Nats decided to non-tender Finnegan in November, making him a free agent.

So instead of trading him at any of the three previous deadlines, the Nats got nothing in return as Finnegan walked.

That shouldn’t completely change the opinions of what the Nats did do at the deadline and all the players they acquired. It will just be a question mark heading into next season, especially depending on where Finnegan ends up.

“We’re happy with the return,” Rizzo said. “The process, we felt, worked well for us. We’re really happy and excited about a lot of the players we got in return.”

In the end, the 2024 trade deadline will be remembered for both what the Nats did and did not do.