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It is never too early in the MLB season to begin looking at which players could be on the move when the season's trade deadline comes around at the end of July.
That is exactly what Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly has done in his latest article, and on the list are two members from the Washington Nationals.
First baseman Josh Bell and relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan were listed by Kelly as two of the 10 most likely candidates to be traded at this year's trade deadline. The Nationals certainly aren't looking to compete for a playoff spot and moving off of Bell and Finnegan would gain them some nice prospects to continue building for the future.
As Kelly noted, if Bell is once again traded this year, it will be the fourth consecutive season in which he was dealt at the trade deadline. In 2022 he was traded from the Nationals to the Padres, in 2023 from Cleveland to Miami and last season from Miami to Arizona. While that isn't anywhere close to Jesse Chavez's record of being traded 10 times, being traded in four straight seasons is quite absurd.
As for Finnegan, he has spent his entire six-year career with the Nationals, and it would most likely be harder for the front office to let go of a player and fan favorite like Finnegan as opposed to Bell, who only stays with a team for a half-season.
Finnegan will be a hot commodity, though, as he boasts a career 3.50 ERA across his six seasons and he is off to an electric start with a 1.17 ERA and 8 strikeouts across 7 2/3 innings.
The two could be packaged together in the same deal to net a huge return for the Nationals. A few landing spots that would be good fits for both are the Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
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About the writer
Andrew Wright is a Newsweek contributor based in Lancaster, South Carolina. His focus is MLB content. Andrew has been with ... Read more