Buy? Sell? Maybe there's a chance to do both.
Paul Toboni has 11 days to decide how to approach the trade deadline, but this might not be an either/or situation
DENVER – Blake Butera knew what was at stake Wednesday afternoon. On the final day of their second-half-opening trip out West, the Nationals were staring at a rubber game against the lowly Rockies, one that would either send the team home with a winning record or a losing record.
The rookie manager didn’t use the term “must-win,” but he went as close to that designation as he could, calling this “a really important game for us.” And when the Nats proceeded to pile on late and emerge with an 8-0 win at Coors Field, the sigh of relief from the clubhouse was palpable.
Expect plenty more of this over the next 11 days, culminating with the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The fate of the Nationals’ surprising season rests on the outcomes of these upcoming games.
“Everyone in the clubhouse knows the standings,” Butera said. “We know the trade deadline’s around the corner. It’s on TV every day. People are talking about playoffs, trade deadline, buyers, sellers, all those different types of things.”
Are the Nats buyers, or are they sellers? Ask anyone in the organization that question, and you’ll get some version of the same answer: It truly depends on how they fare from now until Aug. 3.
