Nationals still assessing whether to trade Foster Griffin at the deadline

What happened

The Washington Nationals have not made up their minds about left-hander Foster Griffin. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that the club is "still assessing" whether to trade Griffin ahead of the trade deadline or keep him for the remainder of the regular season. An extension was also described as a possibility at the time of that report — though Joel Sherman of the New York Post subsequently reported that extension talks "fizzled quickly" between Griffin and the Nationals.

Per Sherman's reporting, the collapse of those talks does not necessarily make a trade more likely. The Nationals, per The Athletic, are still considering being deadline buyers to some extent, which adds another layer of ambiguity to Griffin's situation. Nothing in either report constitutes a club announcement. Griffin is not guaranteed to be moved.

Why it matters

The uncertainty itself is the story. Griffin is reportedly drawing interest — The Athletic noted he should have plenty of suitors if made available — and the decision Washington makes about him will say something meaningful about how the organization views the next several months and, perhaps, the next several years.

The Athletic framed the Griffin signing as one of the better moves of new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni's early tenure. Griffin returned to MLB on a one-year, $5.5MM deal after three seasons away from the majors, and by the measure of that framing, the bet has paid off. That context matters when weighing the keep-or-sell calculus: a front office that correctly identified Griffin as a reclamation worth pursuing now has to decide whether the return on a mid-season trade exceeds the value of keeping a functional left-hander for a club that is, at least in some conversations, still thinking about buying.

That last part is worth sitting with. The Nationals are, per The Athletic, "still considering being deadline buyers to some extent." That is not a phrase that typically precedes a fire sale. It does not preclude one either. The desk will not pretend to resolve what two experienced reporters left deliberately open.

Where the club stands

Washington is 4th in the NL East at 77-85 (.475), eliminated from both the division and Wild Card races, and 17 games behind the division leader. The Wild Card picture is no more hospitable: the Nationals rank 8th in Wild Card positioning, 11.0 games relative to the cut line. The club enters the weekend on a one-game winning streak.

Those numbers do not make the Griffin decision easier — they make it stranger. A team eliminated from postseason contention that is nonetheless "still considering being deadline buyers to some extent" is operating in a genuinely unusual register. Whether that posture reflects organizational optimism, a specific competitive window the front office sees that the standings do not yet reflect, or simply the difficulty of letting go of a pitcher who has been one of the better stories of the season is not something either report specifies. The desk notes the tension and moves on.

The upcoming schedule at Nationals Park offers an interesting footnote to the Griffin deliberations. Per the probable pitchers on file, Griffin is listed as Washington's starter for Saturday, July 25 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, opposite Mitch Bratt. Miles Mikolas is lined up for Sunday against Arizona, and Eddy Yean is the probable for Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Is Griffin pitching this weekend?

Per the probable pitchers on file, yes — Griffin is listed as Washington's starter for Saturday, July 25 against Arizona at Nationals Park. That is a notable data point in its own right: a pitcher whose trade status is openly unresolved is also scheduled to take the ball for his club in two days. The deadline and the rotation are, for the moment, running on parallel tracks. If suitors are indeed circling, they will have a live look before the deadline conversation sharpens further.

What we don't know yet

Neither The Athletic nor the New York Post has reported a decision. The Nationals are assessing, not announcing. Extension talks have fizzled per Sherman, but fizzled talks are not a closed door — they are a door that did not open on the first try. Whether Washington ultimately moves Griffin, keeps him, or revisits a longer-term arrangement after the deadline passes remains genuinely open.

It is also worth noting what the reporting does not specify: the nature of the suitor interest beyond the characterization that Griffin "should have plenty," the parameters of any extension discussions before they stalled, or the specific timeline the front office is working against. Trade deadlines have a way of clarifying ambiguity in a hurry, but until that moment arrives, the Nationals appear to be in no rush to foreclose their options.

What to watch

The most immediate thing to watch is Griffin's start Saturday against Arizona. A strong outing does not resolve the front office's deliberations, but it keeps the conversation alive and gives any interested clubs a timely look. Beyond that, any follow-up reporting from Rosenthal, Sammon, or Sherman in the days ahead will be the clearest signal of which direction Washington is leaning.

The broader question — whether the Nationals' posture as potential buyers holds or softens as the deadline approaches — will shape not just the Griffin decision but the club's entire deadline identity. A team that is 17 games back and eliminated from the Wild Card race that is still thinking about buying is either seeing something the standings do not show, or working through the particular difficulty of a front office that has built something it is not quite ready to dismantle. Paul Toboni's tenure is brief enough that every significant decision still reads as a signal. This one, whenever it comes, will be no different.