ST. LOUIS — The bunt attempt was the giveaway.
In a 2-1 count Friday night, Jeimer Candelario, one of the Washington Nationals’ few power threats, squared his body and stuck his bat over the plate, looking to guide a change-up down the third base line. Sure, the St. Louis Cardinals had shaded their infield a tad, giving Candelario some dirt and grass to work with. But that’s not why Candelario looked to bunt against Miles Mikolas in the first inning.
The reason: During infield drills Friday afternoon, Candelario took a ball off his right thumb. And by the time he stepped in for his first at-bat, his thumb was throbbing and swelling. He didn’t want to swing. After he squared up but let a ball go past, he did swing, fouling off three consecutive pitches and striking out on a curveball. He then winced and rushed to the dugout, where Manager Dave Martinez immediately replaced him in the lineup. The initial diagnosis was a bone bruise. By Saturday morning, before the Nationals and Cardinals resumed their rain-delayed series opener, Candelario was still sore, though there was faint hope he could start the second leg of a split doubleheader.
But Candelario will not start until Sunday at the earliest. He could have come off the bench in the nightcap, but that seemed especially unlikely after the team recalled third baseman/utility man Jake Alu as its extra roster player. Candelario was hooked for Ildemaro Vargas before the bottom of the first Friday. That game was suspended with two down in the bottom of the third — then the Nationals won, 7-5, in 10 innings Saturday after former Cardinal Lane Thomas pushed them ahead with an RBI single in the 10th. But the immediate implications were far less important than the two-week outlook for Candelario.
The 29-year-old third baseman is the Nationals’ best chance to land a worthwhile return at the trade deadline. An injury of any magnitude could be fairly consequential.
“Hopefully it’s not a bigger issue,” Martinez said Saturday morning. A few hours later, his team kept hitting in its third consecutive win. CJ Abrams stole two bases, and he singled before Thomas’s go-ahead hit in the 10th. Joey Meneses brought in runs with a single and a double. Washington (37-54) scored three times in the fifth without a hit, riding three errors by the Cardinals. And to hold off St. Louis (38-53), if only just enough, Cory Abbott, Jordan Weems, Mason Thompson, Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey covered 7⅓ innings.
“We’ll manage it the way we’d manage it no matter what time of year it is,” Martinez continued on Candelario’s thumb. “Hopefully we’ll get it to where, if anything, he can come off the bench to help us later on. Then we’ll give him another day, and hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”
The theme of that answer: hope. It is that time of year again: Until 6 p.m. Aug. 1, nothing matters but the deadline. Yet unlike in 2021, when Washington had a whole heap of veterans to trade — or last summer, when so much hinged on whether Juan Soto was dealt — Candelario is the Nationals’ only obvious chip. They could move Harvey, their most desirable reliever, though he’s under club control for two more seasons beyond this one. They could move Finnegan, a versatile, high-leverage arm, though he’s under control through 2025, too. Same goes for Thomas, who entered the second half with 14 homers and an .844 OPS.
Carl Edwards Jr., a reliever who drew light interest at last year’s deadline, has been on the injured list because of shoulder inflammation since June 21. Patrick Corbin has been floated as a trade candidate, but he will have a season and two months left on a six-year, $140 million contract, making the money complicated. Meneses is heating up after a quiet first half, logging seven hits and four homers in his past four games entering Saturday’s nightcap. There’s Corey Dickerson, who signed as a potential rental but has two home runs in 117 plate appearances. And then there’s Dominic Smith, a left-handed-hitting first baseman who has the fourth-lowest OPS in the National League.
So Candelario it is, barring any relative surprises — and, yes, the Nationals did find trade partners for Jon Lester, Brad Hand and Ehire Adrianza in the past two years. When they signed Candelario to a one-year, $5 million deal in November, they quickly developed a company line. Despite a rough 2022 with the Detroit Tigers, Candelario led the American League in doubles the year before. He was a candidate to benefit from the new shift rules, especially when hitting from the left side. The match made a lot of sense for everyone: Washington needed a stopgap third baseman and players to trade. Candelario needed everyday chances to bounce back.
To do that, he has relied less on the shift ban and more on better swing decisions. He has cut his chase rate from 34 percent to 29 percent. He’s swinging at fewer pitches overall, both in and out of the strike zone. If that has meant fewer cuts at juicy pitches, Candelario has sacrificed those for a much sounder approach, improving his hard-hit percentage and average exit velocity. He also has played a well-above-average third base. He has even flashed a bit of power as a righty.
His thumb, then, is of considerable interest this weekend. During Friday’s weather delay, scouts in the press box chatted about his status. When Candelario walked into the clubhouse Saturday, Meneses beelined for his locker and pointed to Candelario’s right hand. Candelario shrugged, then showed Meneses that it was still pretty swollen. The Nationals plan to treat it and see whether he can retake the field against the Cardinals.
At this point, Candelario has little to prove with his performance. But he must prove his thumb won’t be an issue down the stretch.
“Hopefully we can be out there tomorrow, man, hopefully,” he said Friday night, pleading to the dugout ceiling. “Please, God, because I feel really good.”