That was quick.
After it was floated Monday night that the Nationals were open to trading superstar and pending free agent Bryce Harper, GM Mike Rizzo said on Tuesday with just about five hours to go until the trade deadline that Harper was going nowhere.
In addition to Rizzo's proclamation that Harper isn't getting traded, the Nationals are expected to keep Gio Gonzalez and their entire bullpen as they try to win the NL East, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
At 52-53, the Nats have six fewer losses than the Mets, and trail the Phillies by 5.5 games for first place in the NL East. Meanwhile, they trail the Diamondbacks by 5.5 games for the second Wild Card spot.
The 25-year-old Harper is hitting .220/.369/.473 with 25 homers in 103 games this season. Aside from Harper, Daniel Murphy, relievers Ryan Madson and Shawn Kelly, and Gonzalez are all pending free agents. Stephen Strasburg is under contract through 2023, but is in the midst of his third season out of the last four that is being disrupted by injuries.
Even more so than the Nats, it can be argued that the Mets should have dealt some of their most valuable assets (see: Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler) before the deadline. At the moment, it seems they won't be trading any of them.
As it pertains to Syndergaard (injuries knocking down his value a bit) and Wheeler (Mets not getting the offers they want), the Mets might be right in holding tight. As it pertains to deGrom, it's another story.
