It’s bonkers, but could the Nationals consider trading Bryce Harper?

It sounds unthinkable, but could things unravel so much over the next month that the Washington Nationals consider trading Bryce Harper?

Winners of the NL East title three of the past four years, and heavy favorites to cruise to a third straight division title this year, the Washington Nationals have been unable to get untracked this season. They were 11-16 in April before rebounding to finish May on a high note with a 20-7 record, outscoring their opponents by 48 runs in the process. That hot month may have been fool’s gold, however, as the Nationals are just 8-14 in June and have been outscored by 27 runs.

Washington has fallen four games behind the surprising Atlanta Braves and trails the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers by a game for the National League’s second Wild Card. The Nats have been a bad baseball team in two of the season’s first three months. A very favorable schedule in May, featuring series with the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins is the only thing keeping them afloat right now.

It’s hardly time to hit the panic button in Washington, as multiple stars are currently on the disabled list, but the continued struggles could force the front office to make a very difficult decision at the trade deadline.

Would the Nationals ever consider trading free-agent-to-be Bryce Harper?

The answer right now, is an emphatic no, but that could change. Regardless of how much he has struggled this year, Harper is still set to command a massive contract this winter, one the Nationals will likely pass on given how much money they have already spent on Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

For Harper to become even remotely available on the trade block, the Nationals must have another month like April and June in July. If the trade deadline approaches and the team is out of contention, that discussion will have to take place. That discussion should be happening now, in fact, as the Nationals attempt to rebound from an embarrassing trip to Tampa Bay where they were shut out 12-0 over the course of two games. This is a moment where the veterans on the team need to come together and change the course of the season for the better.

The Nationals aren’t a bad baseball team, but they have been snakebitten by injuries for most of the year and have looked listless. Harper’s slump has dragged down the rest of the lineup. Daniel Murphy has played in only 13 games. Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Wieters and Strasburg are all currently on the disabled list. Center fielder Adam Eaton missed two months with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, the bullpen, which performed so well down the stretch last year, has been choppy all year outside of dominating closer Sean Doolittle. The pieces are still in place for the Nats to make a run, but sometimes things just don’t work out, regardless of how good a team looks on paper.

If the Nationals were to truly fall out of playoff contention leading up to the July 31 deadline, then it makes all the sense in the world to try and land an absolute haul by making Harper available. No matter how deep his struggles have been this year, every contender in the league would be willing to offer up top prospects to acquire his bat for a postseason run. The Nationals have had one of the most productive farm systems in the league since their run began, but it is starting to become tapped out in terms of elite talent. Juan Soto and Victor Robles look like the real deal, but the lower levels are several years away from producing players that can have an impact at the MLB level. It does make sense to stay all-in on 2018 for a Wild Card with Max Scherzer available to pitch a one-game playoff, so if the Nats are within striking distance, Harper will finish out the year with them.

Next: Top 25 MLB trades of all time

This season was always going to be a crossroads for the Nationals with Harper, and it could end much differently than anyone could have imagined. The July schedule is favorable, with eight games against Miami and four against the floundering New York Mets. That should be enough to keep the Nats right there in what is shaping up to be a tight pennant race in the National League, but stranger things have happened. One major injury could send this team spiraling down even further. If that happens, Harper could hit the block fairly quickly, leading to one of the biggest feeding frenzies in trade-deadline history.