Nats trade Harvey to Royals for third base prospect and 39th pick in draft

MILWAUKEE – Only minutes after one of their most rousing victories of the season, the Nationals made the first of what could be several deals that underscore the organization’s intention to keep focus on 2025 and beyond over the present.

The Nats traded top setup man Hunter Harvey to the Royals for third base prospect Cayden Wallace plus Kansas City’s Competitive Balance A pick, which just so happens to be the 39th overall pick in Sunday night’s MLB Draft.

The deal came shortly after the Nationals rallied from a five-run deficit in the first inning to beat the Brewers, 6-5, with a large number of the team’s pitchers summoned to manager Davey Martinez’s office for a closed-door meeting during which they appear to have been informed of the trade.

Harvey had become one of the Nats’ most reliably effective relievers over the last three seasons, the formerly injury-plagued right-hander with the Orioles finally keeping himself healthy for long stretches and realizing his full potential. Though he struggled recently and saw his ERA balloon to 4.20, that number was down to 2.08 in early June, and he enjoyed back-to-back impressive performances Thursday and Friday to allay any fears his slump would continue.

The 29-year-old wound up with a 3.17 ERA, 1.083 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings across 138 appearances since he joined the Nationals in 2022. And because he remained under club control through the 2025 season, there was always the thought general manager Mike Rizzo might choose not to trade him and keep him and closer Kyle Finnegan (also under control through 2025) together as the organization attempts to return to contention next year.

In the end, the Royals made an offer Rizzo couldn’t refuse: One of their top prospects in Wallace, plus a notable pick in Sunday’s Draft.

Wallace, who turns 23 next month, was rated Kansas City’s No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 5 prospect by Baseball America. A 5-foot-11 third baseman taken in the second round of the 2022 draft out of Arkansas, he was slashing .282/.350/.427 with nine doubles, three homers and 16 RBIs in 34 games at Double-A to begin the season.

Wallace, though, has been on the minor league injured list since late May with a right oblique strain, then saw his rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League brought to a halt last week when he was hit by a pitch and fractured a rib. He could return in August and could be big-league-ready sometime in 2025.

Considered a natural third baseman, Wallace joins a Nats farm system that already has a top third base prospect at Triple-A in 2021 first-round pick Brady House, plus another promising corner infielder in 2023 second-round pick Yohandy Morales.

The key to this trade, especially the timing, may have been the Royals’ willingness to include their Competitive Balance A pick in Sunday night’s draft as part of the package. That pick, which was awarded to Kansas City for being among the sport’s 10 lowest-revenue clubs, will come in between the first and second rounds.

Thus, the Nationals will now have three prime draft picks in the first two rounds Sunday night: No. 10, No. 39 and No. 44.