Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline

The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and while the trade winds are blowing, we are throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes the best trades you make are the trades you don't. What does that mean? It means that when you are contemplating a trade that does not feel right that it is best to not do it. How many trades would teams want to have back? Plenty. The Orioles want to reverse the deal sending Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman. The Twins would like to reverse the Matt Capps-for-Wilson Ramos trade.

What would the 2005 Nationals have looked like if Expos general manager Omar Minaya didn't trade a minor league package of Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips for several months of Bartolo Colon?

General Managers cannot be afraid of making trades because making trades is part of their job, but don't make trades to make it look like you are working hard. Yes, fans clamor for trades, as they have high expectations. Nationals GM Mike Rizzo will most likely make one or two trades.

The rumor mills are churning, and the media is talking about it non-stop. What the Nationals want versus what the Nationals need are two different things. Some say the Nationals need a big upgrade in the closer's spot, but when you look at the stats, Jonathan Papelbon has converted 19 of 21 save chances this season. The Nats might want to upgrade the back of their bullpen, but they do not need to.

The answer for a bullpen upgrade could come from within the system with some hard-throwing arms the Nats already have with Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Koda Glover. The Royals and Cardinals have upgraded their bullpens over the years from their own farm systems. Last year. Rizzo traded for Papelbon, and prior to that he got Matt Thornton off of the waiver wire. This will be a story to watch.

On position players, the Nationals don't have the positional depth in the minor leagues now beyond players like Matt den Dekker. Rizzo might look for an outfield upgrade at the trade deadline, given the lack of depth.

Once the trade deadline passes, teams will have until Aug. 31 to make waiver deals and have players acquired available on the postseason roster.

Steve Mears blogs about the Nationals for Talk Nats. Follow the blog on Twitter: @TalkNats2. His thoughts on the Nationals will appear here as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our site. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.