Why the Nationals essentially stood pat: "Track record"

They didn't buy, at least not in July. They didn't sell, at least not in the kind of significant way that had been suggested was possible. In the end, the Nationals essentially stood pat at the trade deadline, keeping Bryce Harper and everyone else on the current roster except for Brandon Kintzler, who was dealt to the Cubs for a Single-A reliever.

So what message, then, did the front office just send a clubhouse full of players and a region full of fans who have spent the last four months trying to figure out exactly what kind of team this is going to be by season's end?

"I think it tells the team that we believe in the squad we have," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "The 25 guys in that clubhouse, we felt all along, have a chance to win this division. We're the two-time defending champs. We've got the bullseye on our back and the crown our head. And until someone takes it away from us, we're still the champs."

That may all be true, but the defending champs also have been sitting in third place for some time, staring up at a 5 1/2-game deficit. If this roster was only good enough to go 52-53 through the first two-thirds of the season, what reason is there to believe it will be substantially better in the final third, especially when most of the National League's other contenders made bold moves before the deadline?

"Track record," Rizzo said. "We believe in the players we have. We've got players coming off the disabled list that are starting to get in a groove, offensively, defensively. Our pitching staff is coming together. Our bullpen is strong. We feel on paper we're as good as any team in the league, if we play up to our capabilities. We're worried about how we play. We're not worried about the other teams in our division or in the National League. Because if we play like we can play, we don't have to worry about anybody."

If the Nationals are going to prove their confident GM right, they're going to have to start playing a whole lot better, beginning tonight against the Mets. And high on the list of players who need to lead the way is Harper, who after a 24-hour frenzy of rumors now knows he's staying in Washington through the remainder of the season.

Rizzo acknowledged today that he did engage in Harper trade discussions with several clubs, though he pointed out he discussed other unnamed players of significance along the way, as well. In the end, he insists he only would have dealt the face of this franchise since the day he was drafted in 2010 had he been blown away by an offer.

"I think you can go back to the comments I made a week ago," Rizzo said. "It would've had to have been a spectacular set of circumstances for us to move a player of Bryce Harper's ability level, and we didn't get anything that met those qualifications."

Rizzo said he felt the need to contact Harper after rumors started sounding serious on Monday, reassuring his 25-year-old star that no deal would be made in the end.

"Rizzo's one of the best GMs in all of baseball, and I think he would be straightforward with me if I was on the block or anything like that," Harper said. "That just goes to show how good our relationship is, and it was nice to see."

Is that relationship, even after the events of the last 24 hours, so strong that Harper will ignore the trade talk when it comes time to negotiate as a free agent this winter? That remains to be seen, but Rizzo suggested it won't negatively impact whatever comes later.

"I think that we would be not doing our jobs if we did not explore all our options to improve the club, with Bryce Harper and everybody else," the GM said. "We had discussions with many, many players on the roster. Bryce was one of them. I think if we're not doing that ... he understands this game as well as all of us. And he would be thinking that we weren't doing our job if we didn't address everything to try to make this organization better."

Did the Nationals make themselves a better organization today? That's debatable. The one move they made was to subtract a key member of their bullpen in exchange for Single-A reliever Jhon Romero.

Kintzler, acquired from the Twins right at the 2017 deadline, was admittedly stunned when he learned the news today, initially thinking it was a joke.

"Definitely the last thing I kind of expected when I was coming to the field today," he said. "The fact that we didn't sell was a good thing here, totally. I'm sure they'll be fine without me. I felt like I was throwing the ball well. I can go help a contender, another contender, right now. I don't know. Just shell-shocked right now. At a loss for words."

The Nationals' explanation for the trade? It involved a combination of factors, according to Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, who between them mentioned the depth already in place in the back end of the bullpen, the need for someone else who can throw multiple innings - they recalled Wander Suero from Triple-A Syracuse to fill that role - and the "financial flexibility" achieved. The Nationals will save about $1.7 million on Kintzler's 2018 salary and will no longer be responsible for the mutual option on him for 2019 ($10 million club or $5 million player).

"Look, Brandon was awesome," Martinez said. "He got some big outs for us, he really did. Of course he's going to be missed in the bullpen. But I think, moving forward, having some length to go with (left-hander Matt Grace) is important."

If there was one area where it seemed the Nationals had a significant need for improvement, it was behind the plate, where the catchers they've used to date have been the least productive in the majors. Rizzo wouldn't go into details about any talks he had in search of a catcher - the Phillies wound up acquiring Wilson Ramos (still on the disabled list with a hamstring strain) from the Rays for a player to be named or cash - but he praised his current No. 1 catcher.

"I like where Matt Wieters is at, the way he handles a pitching staff, the way he calls the game, the defensive skill," Rizzo said. "And hopefully, his bat gets better as he gets into the flow of playing in the lineup every day. He's a professional catcher that has a track record of handling pitching staffs, and we feel comfortable that's he's going to be the guy to lead us."