MLB Rumors: 5 players the Nationals should trade for

1. Ken Giles

Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles has bounced back tremendously from his disappointing tenure with the Houston Astros. Things just never seemed to click for the 28-year-old reliever in Houston, and he did not handle his role well. Giles only wanted to close, but the Astros initially wanted to keep him available for the most important outs of the game, regardless of inning. He was a budding star for the Philadelphia Phillies, but ended up unceremoniously dumped by the Astros after pitching himself out of a job in the 2017 playoffs.

Giles did not turn things around immediately after the trade last season, continuing to have issues with the long ball. Whatever plagued him off and on for the past three seasons is in the past now, however. Giles has dominated in 2019, and it looks entirely sustainable. In 28 innings this year for the Jays, he has a 1.29 ERA, 1.00 FIP and has struck out 15.8 per-nine while allowing only one home run.

The resurgence for Giles has been fueled by a decision to increase the usage rate of his slider, which has always been his best pitch. He is throwing his fastball and slider with a 50-50 split after sitting closer to 60-40 fastball-slider for most of his career. The slider has always been the best pitch for Giles, and opponents are hitting a measly .113 against the pitch this year. He has thrown his slider 225 times this season, and it has been swung on and missed 65 times and put in play only 20 times.

There are some obvious concerns that Giles will implode again if given a chance to close down the stretch for a contender, but the Nationals don’t have much of a choice. He is the best reliever available on the market, and their bullpen is the only thing keeping them from making a run and grabbing a playoff spot.