Nationals could still hold key to Yankees' outfield after late night Mets trade

Do the Yankees have a left field problem? When Alex Verdugo's been the worst qualified hitter in MLB since mid-June and Jasson Dominguez's oblique won't cooperate, it's safe to say the team should be pursuing upgrades, no matter how close to a "heater" Aaron Boone believes Verdugo is.

Luckily, the Washington Nationals have a potential solution in their trade deadline catalog.

The Nationals have been closer to Wild Card contention this summer than anyone imagined, parlaying a CJ Abrams All-Star breakout with Mackenzie Gore's emergence and James Wood's arrival. Let this be a lesson to all you kids out there: always trade with AJ Preller, whether you're selling Juan Soto or obtaining him.

They're still sorting out their future core, though, with 2023 top pick Dylan Crews also knocking on the door. That's made last year's hidden gem Lane Thomas somewhat expendable, as well as emerging rental Jesse Winker. The Nationals have been successful, but they're far from delusional. All non-essential pieces should be on the table, and while Thomas is an overqualified fourth outfielder and will come at a higher cost, the Mets beat the Yankees to the lefty-swinging Winker on Saturday night, leaving them no choice but to try for Plan B. Maybe include Kyle Finnegan in a Thomas deal?

Don't take it from us, though. Take it from Jeff Passan, who knows the Nationals' focus is on 2025 at this point.

Yankees should call Nationals about Lane Thomas after missing on Jesse Winker at MLB Trade Deadline

Thomas, a revelation last summer after coming over in the Nationals' sale of (what???) Jon Lester to the Cardinals back in 2021, has dropped from 28 bombs in 2023 to eight this year, seeing his OPS+ dip from 115 to 105. He's stolen 25 bags, but has also been caught a league-leading 10 times, and will enter free agency following the 2025 season. That would still leave any team that acquired him with a top-tier baserunner, per Baseball Savant, as well as the type of contact hitter Yankee fans were actually looking for when Alex Verdugo was obtained. Doesn't whiff. Doesn't chase. Does moderate damage.

Doesn't, unfortunately, field very well (sixth percentile Fielding Run Value). A late-inning defensive replacement he is not. Maybe that becomes Verdugo's purview?

Unfortunately, the Yankees might've lost out on the bigger fish here.Winker provides a similarly glum defensive profile and is a cinderblock on the bases, but is having an elite season at the dish, rarely chasing, always walking, and squaring up enough balls to find himself with an .813 OPS past the season's midpoint. Winker's 2024 numbers line up with his career totals, making his horrific 2023 (.199 average, .567 OPS) more of an outlier as the days tick by.

The 30-year-old Winker, making just $2 million this season, feels like the type of winning ballplayer that World Series teams typically end up with around the deadline. He also sort of felt like an Atlanta Brave before the Mets plunged in -- as does Thomas, as the team attempts to replicate their 2021 deadline surge with Ronald Acuña Jr. on the shelf.

Hmm. Perhaps, if it feels like a strategy that could bolster a team's title chances, the Yankees should also try it, instead of standing pat?