Nationals trade for Pirates closer Mark Melancon

The Washington Nationals have traded for Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon after missing out on Aroldis Chapman.

With the August 1 trade deadline looming, the Washington Nationals made a big move Saturday afternoon acquiring All-Star closer Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates. This comes as welcome news for the Nationals team and its fans following their unsuccessful attempts to get Aroldis Chapman on the roster.

The Nationals are in first place in the National League East with a 61-42 record but needed to address the back of the bullpen with Jonathan Papelbon struggling mightily since the All-Star break.

The 31-year-old right-handed reliever should do just that after recording a 1.80 ERA since 2013, which is the lowest ERA in MLB over that particular time period and will allow Papelbon to move into a set-up role.

The Pirates acquire left-hander Felipe Rivero and relief pitcher Taylor Hearn in the deal, according to Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal who was the first to report the deal.

Melancon was part of the 2013, 2015 and 2016 MLB All-Star teams representing the Pirates in each of those appearances. Prior to the 2013 season, he had brief stops with the Yankees, Astros and Red Sox. It’s expected he’ll now be the Nationals closer as Jonathan Papelbon will be moved away from that role.

One team’s gain also appears to be another team’s loss as the Pittsburgh Pirates look to be waving the white flag on their season that began with so much promise. The team currently sits at 52-49 in the National League Central and is nearly 10 games off the pace off the division-leading Cubs.

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