Toboni said he could spend at the trade deadline — but will the Nats be a true contender?
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Stephen “Ghost” Mears
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Photo by Intrepid/Nats.Talk
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. If only Paul Toboni‘s crystal ball had told him that his team would enter July 2nd with a winning record and just 1½ games from the 3rd and final spot Wild Card spot — because then he might have gone into the 2026 season with a better bullpen. Now, Toboni will either have to get creative inside of his own system or most likely trade for bullpen arms. It’s by far the weakest part of the team.
❝We’re not shying away from the fact that we could have a lot more wins right now if our bullpen was throwing a little bit better.❞
— Paul Toboni said on 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies show last week
A little bit better, Paul? Come on. As a group they are below even the line marked “terrible.” In a year of bad bullpenning in MLB, the Nats relievers rank at the bottom of most blown saves, 25, as well as the lowest K%. If there is any good news, the Nats are winning and carrying leads into the late innings giving the team more save opportunities — so the Nats bullpen is only the 4th worst in save conversions at 51.0 percent. The bullpen is the 5th worst in terms of ERA at 4.95, not the worst anymore. They are also the 5th worst at HR/9 at 1.35 and WHIP at 1.460. The Nats bullpen is the worst in bullpen K% at only 18.3 percent, which means they rely the most on their defense in pitch-to-contact to get outs.
Is it fair to say that the Nats are the 4th worst bullpen overall? Probably. This week they are trending in the right direction after last week’s meltdown with blown blown saves in three games against the Phillies. If the Nats won those three games against the Phillies (a big if), then the Nats would be in the second Wild Card today, and the Phillies would be where the Nats are now.
The issue with trading with non-contenders is that many of their relievers have been putting up good numbers in low leverage outings. But maybe someone like Kirby Yates who the Angels signed for $5 million as a free agent in the offseason could be the type of pitcher the Nats need to target now. The sad part is Yates was the type of reliever that Toboni could have signed in the offseason if his crystal ball was working. Instead, he spent just under $2 million for Cionel Perez as his top acquisition in the offseason. Perez was quickly DFA’d. As they say, you usually get what you pay for.
There was also the question about extending the team’s best statistical starting pitcher, Foster Griffin, who was signed to just a 1-year deal without any team options attached. If the Nats aren’t in the Wild Card hunt in three weeks, Griffin might be traded. The 30-year-old is in the Rookie of the Year award discussion, as well as being an All-Star. He returned to the Major Leagues after three years of reinventing himself in Japan, and his success so far has placed him as one of the best free agent signings of the offseason.
When asked if there is a possibility of Griffin being in the Nats’ long-term plans, Toboni said, “Honestly, I think the answer is yes, and that goes for everyone on this club. We’re obviously not at the point where we have to make a decision on that, but Foster’s been awesome for us. I couldn’t say enough great things about him, and he’s going to thrive wherever he is in the future. So, we’ll see what comes as we get toward the end of the year and go from there.”
Toboni has a weekly spot on the Sports Junkies radio show every Wednesday during the baseball season, and he was specifically asked if he has the “greenlight to spend?” His short answer was “yes” and then he talked about it in a long-form answer.
From @JunksRadio excerpts of the Paul Toboni interview at the trade deadline thinking on the "greenlight on spending" and "going for it" in this 2026 season. pic.twitter.com/9ZEC8GcNtM
Toboni talked about spending at the trade deadline and said, “… Yes, there are certain paths to do so. … We will have all options on the table.” The week before those comments, Toboni talked about trying to make trades, “It’s difficult to make trades at this time, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to try.” Could we be surprised by a big trade that moves the needle now that the calendar has moved to July?
❝The tricky part is the time of the year. There are certain things you can do at this time of the year, you can be active on waiver claims and DFA’s and that sort of thing. You can look to make trades which we’re doing, and at the same time, it’s a window where teams look to see how the next [several] weeks go before the [trade] deadline (on Aug. 3rd).
It’s difficult to make trades at this time, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to try. We’re going to have a bunch of conversations and see where it goes.❞
— Paul Toboni said on 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies show
Toboni said that he wants to improve the team, and didn’t shy away from discussing making trades and even said they have discussed it internally. Tomorrow marks exactly a month to the trade deadline on August 3rd .
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