Aug 21, 2018 4 min read

Essentially throwing in the towel on a disappointing season, the Washington Nationals traded second baseman Daniel Murphy to the Chicago Cubs and first baseman Matt Adams to the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday.

Despite a roster that boasts such stars as Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper, Washington went into a three-game series at home against Philadelphia with a losing record of 62-63, 7½ games behind the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.

General manager Mike Rizzo and the team owners gambled at the July trade deadline, standing pat and expressing faith in the roster as constituted. The Nationals trounced the New York Mets 25-4 that night, but are 9-10 since, including a 2-5 road trip through Chicago and St. Louis that featured a 4-3 loss at Wrigley Field on a two-out, walk-off grand slam.

“We felt that coming off that road trip and into this most recent homestand was a time that was a litmus test for us … and we felt that the timing was right to make the vital decisions that we had to make,” Rizzo said.

The deals came three weeks after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and the Nationals aren’t getting much in return.

For Murphy, who was hitting .300 since his return from knee surgery, the Cubs are swapping Class A infielder Andruw Monasterio and a player to be named or cash. For Adams, the Cardinals are sending $50,000 to Washington.

“My thoughts are it’s really bittersweet,” Murphy said. “I sat at this podium probably 2 ½ years ago. The Washington Nationals were the only offer I had. They took a chance on me three years ago and I feel very disappointed in myself that it kind of came to this point, I guess would be the easiest way to describe it.”

The 33-year-old Murphy was a big hitter during his time in Washington. A postseason star in 2015 with the Mets, he signed with the Nationals that winter and was an All-Star the next two years.

Asked how close the team came to including Harper – a free agent after the season – in the Tuesday deals, Rizzo said: “You have to get a deal that makes sense to trade one of the elite players in the game.”

Harper, who struggled for much of the first half, is hitting .350 since the All-Star break.

“I’ve been part of this organization for seven years and I look forward to coming in and doing my job every single day and I had no fear of being traded or let go on waivers or anything like that,” Harper said.

Detroit 2, Chicago Cubs 1: Jordan Zimmermann pitched six effective innings, Victor Martinez had three hits and the Detroit Tigers beat the slumping Cubs 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Zimmermann (6-5) allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked one, continuing Chicago’s misery. Drew VerHagen, Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene combined for three innings of one-hit relief, closing out Detroit’s second win in seven games.

The NL Central-leading Cubs were held to one run via homer for the fifth straight game, dropping the last three in the offensive slide.

N.Y. Mets 6, San Francisco 3: Rookie Jeff McNeil went 4 for 4 and hit a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning that sent the New York Mets over the San Francisco Giants 6-3.

McNeil equaled his career high by getting four hits for the second time since making his major league debut last month. Michael Conforto homered and drove in four runs.

Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer for the Giants, who fell to 3-5 on an 11-game road trip – they’ve scored two runs or fewer five times.

Toronto 8, Baltimore 2: Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales hit back-to-back home runs, Aledmys Diaz and Billy McKinney also connected, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Baltimore 8-2, improving to 9-0 at home against the struggling Orioles.

Blue Jays right-hander Sam Gaviglio (3-6) pitched seven innings to snap a 15-start winless streak, earning his first victory since May 25 at Philadelphia. Gaviglio allowed two runs and six hits.

Smoak and Morales chased right-hander Dylan Bundy with solo blasts two pitches apart in the fifth. Smoak’s homer was his team-high 19th.

Morales finished 3 for 4 with two RBI while McKinney went 2 for 3 with three RBI.