Nationals send Kintzler to Cubs in lone deadline deal

If the Nationals were going to sell before today's trade deadline, they certainly had no shortage of veteran relievers on short-term contracts to offer up to other clubs.

In the end, the guy they chose to move was a bit of a surprising one: Brandon Kintzler, who was dealt to the Cubs for Single-A right-handed reliever Jhon Romero.

That was the club's only move before the 4 p.m. deadline.

Kintzler, who turns 34 on Wednesday, had become a key late-inning reliever for the Nationals since his acquisition from the Twins right at the 2017 trade deadline. And the right-hander re-signed with the club over the winter, a deal that included a complicated second-year option for both sides that seemed to make him a lock to return to D.C. in 2019.

But with Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, Justin Miller and Shawn Kelley all in the current bullpen, closer Sean Doolittle expected to return soon from the disabled list and prospect Koda Glover recovered from his own injury and potentially ready to come back soon as well, the Nationals had relief depth.

They chose to clear one of those spots by moving Kintzler to the National League Central-leading Cubs, a move that left the reliever admittedly shocked.

"I thought they were joking," Kintzler said before packing up his gatherings in the Nationals clubhouse. "But I figured it's not April Fool's. They just called me in. I said: 'Am I traded?' And they said 'Yeah.' It's a big shock, but I'm in a pretty good situation right now. I've already talked to them. They're excited. It's always nice to feel wanted wherever you go."

Despite engaging in discussions with other clubs over a number of players, general manager Mike Rizzo ultimately made only this one move. He didn't buy any pieces to add to a club trying to make up a 5 1/2-game deficit in the National League East - the Phillies, by the way, acquired catcher Wilson Ramos (still on the disabled list with a hamstring strain) from the Rays for a player to be named or cash - but neither did he sell off any other major pieces aside from Kintzler.

That included Bryce Harper, who was the talk of the baseball world over the last 24 hours but who said was assured he would not be traded.

"Rizzo reassured me earlier yesterday that I wasn't going anywhere," the star outfielder said. "So I was very happy about that and that I'm still inside this clubhouse."