From 2012 to 2021, the Nationals contended for a postseason spot almost annually. Only once in his tenure, the 2018 season, did the Nationals consider a sell-off like the one Scherzer’s departure signals now. That year, ownership couldn’t pull the trigger on a series of deals that would have jettisoned Harper, Daniel Murphy and others. Instead, they traded Murphy to the Cubs in a late August waiver deal, part of a partial sell-off meant to keep much of the core intact. They won the World Series the next year on the back of starting pitching, the one thing for which the sometimes-stingy Nationals have always been willing to pay.

Source: Washington Post July 30, 2021 02:48 UTC