Nationals may have traded Brandon Kintzler because he called the team ‘a mess’
The Nationals didn’t do much at the deadline, but dealing Brandon Kintzler seemed strange. Evidently, the front office didn’t trust the talented reliever.
Many fans expected to see serious fireworks in Washington just ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Instead, the Nationals remained pretty quiet. The only significant move they made was sending Brandon Kintzler to the Cubs.
That seemed like a strange move given his effectiveness out of the bullpen. Now we understand there may have been more to the story than was first reported. In fact, dealing Kintzler may not have been a baseball decision. Instead, the Nationals front office may have elected to move him over concerns that he was leaking information to the press.
Previous reports from Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports claimed an anonymous Nationals player described the clubhouse as “a mess.” There something seems to be something going on. There’s no reason for a roster with this much high-end talent to be struggling to stay over .500. Last night’s pounding of the Mets was fun for Nationals fans, but it still doesn’t mean they’re ready to go on a big run.
Making Kintzler the scapegoat comes off as a desperate attempt by the front office to get things headed in the right direction. They’re certainly going to miss Kintzler’s contributions on the diamond. He was a solid relief option for Davey Johnson. Kintzler had already made 45 appearances on the season and had posted a very respectable ERA of 3.59 in 42 2/3 innings of work.
Ultimately, the Nationals better be certain that Kintzler was the mole. If they got this one wrong, they gave up a valuable reliever for relatively little in return. That’s the kind of move that could cost Washington a game or two down the stretch. That could be enough to keep Bryce Harper and company home for the playoffs.
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Whether or not Kintzler was the leak in the clubhouse, he should still be happy about his move. He got out of a dysfunctional locker room to join a team that is likely to make the playoffs. It is hard to see a downside to this move from his perspective. Time will tell if the Nationals can say the same thing.