MLB trade talk: 5 contending teams who should trade for Nationals 3B Jeimer Candelario

With the Washington Nationals one of few clear sellers as the MLB trade deadline approaches, these 5 contenders should have Jeimer Candelario on their radar.

Here at the MLB All-Star break, there just aren’t many teams that are clear-cut sellers as the August 1 trade deadline approaches. However the Washington Nationals, at 36-54, are one team who should be selling. As much as they might have anyone of interest to contending teams anyway.

Jeimer Candelario may stand as the No. 1 trade asset for Washington. After a rough 2022 with the Detroit Tigers, which led to them not tendering him a contract for this year, he is hitting a solid .261/.337/.478 with 13 home runs, 43 RBI and 27 doubles at the break. He is not a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman but, as shown by FanGraphs, the banning of the shift has helped his defense this year.

Last season now looks like a blip more than the start of a trend for Candelario. In 2021 for Detroit, he posted a .271/.351/.443 slash line with 16 home runs, 67 RBI and a major league-high 42 doubles. Include the short 2020 season with 2021, and he had a .278/.356/.458 and a 125 OPS+ over that span. In the aforementioned piece, FanGraphs also cited better plate discipline as a reason for the rebound this year.

Playing on a one-year deal worth $5 million, with up to another $1 million in incentives ($400,000 he’s already cashed when he reached 200 and 300 plate appearances with another $200,000 looking like a lock 38 plate appearances shy of 400), Candelario is as easy and straight-forward a trade candidate as it gets.

These five contenders should have a deal for Candelario on their radar.

MLB trade talk: 5 contending teams who should trade for Jeimer Candelario

5. Minnesota Twins

The Twins (45-46) led the horrible AL Central for much of the proverbial first half, but they now sit a 0.5-game behind the Cleveland Guardians with action set to resume Friday. Their strikeout-prone, at times anemic offense, has been held up by great starting pitching.

With young, still budding star Royce Lewis (oblique) out for awhile again, the Twins are lined up to go with the combination of Jose Miranda, Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano at third base. To say that’s uninspiring might be an insult to that word. He hasn’t done it in a few seasons now, but Candelario could mix in at first base too.

The Twins should be looking at all options to spark their offense. Candelario also happens to be a nice-looking fit.

4. Milwaukee Brewers

Over in the NL Central, the Brewers are a game behind the Cincinnati Reds for the lead in the division. Their offense has broadly been awful thus far, with just two regulars (Christian Yelich and William Contreras) posting an OPS+ over 100. Over at third base, Brian Anderson has cooled off big since a hot start and Luis Urias has struggled since coming back from injury.

The Brewers could seize control of their division if they can just improve their offense to closer to league average in some categories. Candelario is an ideal fit.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

The ship has surely sailed on the Phillies winning the NL East this year, 12 games back of the Atlanta Braves at the break. But they are only a 0.5-game back of the last Wild Card spot in the NL, spurred by a 23-11 record since June 1.

First baseman Rhys Hoskins tore an ACL in spring training, then his replacement Darick Hall was injured early in the season. So the Phillies have been piecing it together there (Alec Bohm, Kody Clemens, Bryce Harper), with the residual piecing it together at third base sometimes with Bohm moving over to the other corner. If they think a now-healthy Hall can hold down the fort at first base, then Bohm goes back to third primarily with Clemens as a primary backup to both.

With some level of pressure, do the Phillies want to rely on an unproven young player down the stretch? Maybe a deal for Candelario makes sense if they aren’t all in on Hall.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks are one of the biggest surprise teams of the 2023 season so far, in a practical tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for first in the NL West at the break. They also haven’t gotten much production out of the third base spot, though Evan Longoria does have an .828 OPS and 122 OPS+ over 155 plate appearances thus far.

On that note, the switch-hitting Candelario could become Arizona’s primary third baseman and mix in as a DH while Longoria gets lined up to primarily face left-handers.

Not that it would take parting with one of their top prospects to get Candelario, but the Diamondbacks have a highly-rated farm system to pluck a prospect from. As offers the Nationals may (will) get go, Arizona can offer a good prospect to get Candelario as a rental.