This is the time of year to be on ‘hug watch’ during MLB games as we approach the trade deadline that is on Monday, August 3, at 6:00 p.m. ET. While there will not be any games in progress on August 3ʳᵈ when the clock expires, you have to imagine there will be players in the middle of their batting practice or pre-game routines who are informed that they have been traded.

The Washington Nationals have 16 games remaining before the deadline, and the team is 48-49, and that places the Nats just 4.0 games behind the 3ʳᵈ Wild Card spot. Let’s be real here. The Nats need a long winning streak to get back into this. They have their easiest 6-game stretch of the season starting tomorrow against the A’s (3 games) then another three game series against the last place Colorado Rockies.

You’ve heard the farmer’s saying of make hay while the sun shines, the Nats have to make a lot of hay on the field. After the Nats return from Colorado, they play the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Braves to get to the trade deadline.

BaseballReference.com gives the Nats a 17.9 percent probability to make the postseason, and a scant 0.5 percent to win the World Series this season. So you’re saying there’s a chance! Well, FanGraphs isn’t as bullish as they have the Nats at a 3.8 percent probability to make the postseason, and 0.0 percent to win the World Series.

There is a reality that All-Star pitcher Foster Griffin could be traded regardless of the Nats playoff chances since he is playing on a contract that expires in less than four months. The Nats have a few choices with Griffin:

1. Extend Griffin’s contract
2. Retain Griffin for the remainder of the 2026 season
3. Retain Griffin for the remainder of the 2026 season and tag him with a Q.O.
4. Trade Griffin for the best offer you receive
5. Trade Griffin for the best offer you receive then re-sign him after the season

We believe that a 3-year $50 million deal is in the ballpark of what could be a reasonable contract extension. Add a lucrative 4ᵗʰ year team option on the back of it for $25 million with a $5 million buy-out and that Griffin deal is really worth $55 million at an AAV of close to $18.33 million. If Paul Toboni and the Lerner ownership group want to create some excitement, start with that deal.

“At this point in time, I’m a pitcher for the Nats. Nothing has been approached to me as of yet. I’m open to anything, honestly. I have an agency (Excel Sports Management) that will take care of all that. We’ll see where the rest of the year takes me.”

— Foster Griffin said to Grant Paulsen this week on if there have been any contract extension talks

Yesterday, Toboni appeared on his weekly radio segment with the Sports Junkies and was asked the same question as to whether or not there have been extension talks with Griffin. Toboni hesitated and replied, “Yeah. No it’s a great question. We will keep all of the talks between us. But I will say, ‘Man, there’s nobody in D.C. that wouldn’t want to explore those options.’ He’s been so great for us. He’s been an awesome teammate. … We’re going to hope that it continues over the course of the next few weeks leading to the deadline, and hopefully beyond. … You love the player, and you love the person.”

On the other side of trading players is that if the Nats get back in the Wild Card hunt, they should be trying to acquire bullpen arms. We all know that is needed.

This is a top of mind topic for Toboni. It should be for the Lerner ownership group. Toboni went on to say that he really needs to see how these next weeks go leading up to the trade deadline. That is prudent. If the Nats are out of the playoff picture, expect another trade deadline sell-off that will go beyond just Griffin. The rumors will become mind-numbing as CJ Abrams will be one of the clickbait names in the mentions. How do you avoid the sell-off and sell-off rumors: WIN A LOT OF GAMES!