Nationals' most likely trade chip is $5.5 million lefty who posted 2.57 ERA in Japan

Nationals' most likely trade chip is $5.5 million lefty who posted 2.57 ERA in Japan originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Washington Nationals hired Paul Toboni as their new president of baseball operations during the offseason.

Toboni's goal is to have this organization return to contention. The Nationals won the World Series in 2019, but they have not made the postseason since.

Naturally, in Washington's rebuilding phase, most of the players on the roster are very young. Several of them could be trade pieces at this year's deadline.

However, a 30-year-old pitcher, who has exceeded expectations after three seasons in Japan, could also be on the move, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller writes.

"There will be legitimate talk of CJ Abrams and less legitimate talk of James Wood as trade candidates, but [Foster] Griffin is a virtual lock for the trade block. He has reeled off three consecutive quality starts, lowering his ERA to 2.27," wrote Miller. "The former first-round draft pick also had a 2.57 ERA over the past three seasons in Japan, so this hot start didn't exactly come out of nowhere."