Nationals begin their case to be trade deadline buyers with a win over Rockies

DENVER — No one truly knows what the Nationals’ role at the Aug. 3 trade deadline will be.

Beginning with this three-game set against the Rockies, the players have four series to demonstrate to the front office that they should add additional resources or keep this roster together.

“It’s up to the front office for them to decide whether we’re buyers or sellers, technically, and what that looks like,” manager Blake Butera said before Monday’s series opener. “But our job here in the clubhouse on the field is just to try to go win every single game and make the decision point easier and maybe more clear for them.”

“These guys love being around each other,” he continued. “They want to stay together. At the end of the day, we want to play playoff baseball here, and that’s why these games are important.”

The Nationals got off to a good start with Monday’s 7-3 win over the Rockies.

They scored three runs in the first inning after designated hitter Andrés Chaparro recorded his fourth homer of the season on a three-run bomb.

After months of not seeing positive results at the plate, he’s starting to see things turn in his favor. He has a 1.359 OPS in 20 at-bats this month with 13 RBIs. Butera stuck with Chaparro through his quiet stretches, and now Chaparro is rewarding that faith with big-time production.

Through it all, he stayed true to his process at the plate even though it didn’t lead to base hits early on.

“That’s something that you can’t control,” he said through a team interpreter. “The only thing you can control is to go to the plate [and] make good contact.”

In the third inning, the Nationals squandered their lead as the Rockies stormed back. Left-hander Andrew Alvarez walked first baseman TJ Rumfield on five pitches to load the bases with two outs.

Alvarez was able to escape a bases-loaded jam in the first, but he couldn’t maneuver out of it a second time. Willi Castro’s three-run double tied the game.

The Nationals got back out in front in the sixth after Jacob Young’s solo homer. They then took control on All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams’ 22nd long ball of the season, a two-run shot that landed in the Rockies’ bullpen to extend the lead to 6-3. Daylen Lile’s RBI triple added an insurance run in the ninth.

“They rake, so it’s awesome to see them go out there and put together great at-bats,” reliever Riley Cornelio said.

After Alvarez exited with one out in the fifth, the bullpen picked him up. Cornelio, Matt Krook and Tom Cosgrove combined to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings to seal the win, which hasn’t been routine for the bullpen this season. Butera hopes this is the type of outing that boosts the confidence of the group. For the team to be serious contenders down the stretch, the bullpen will need to be more reliable than it was in the first half.

“We have a ton of studs in that bullpen, and we’re all really ready to come in and win,” said Cornelio, who recorded his first major-league win. “It was great to see a game like that.”

Time is ticking for the Nationals to create some real separation ahead of Aug. 3. Behind a high-powered offense, the team has been one of the biggest surprises in the National League.

At 51-50, they have blown past what many expected of them this season. And, frankly, they left wins on the table because of bullpen instability: They lead the majors in blown saves (27).

The offense’s ability to continue driving in runs Monday and the bullpen showing it can lock down a win, even against a downtrodden Rockies team, bode well for the second half.

“We were nails,” said Cosgrove, who recorded the save.

But with so many teams in the playoff hunt, the Nationals could benefit in the long term from cashing in some of their two most valuable players for significant prospect capital.

There isn’t a clear path with the team hovering around .500 and staying in the thick of the wild-card race. A quick skid could mean they’re likely sellers; a win streak could mean they’re adding. A lot is up in the air, but Butera said that the team is aware of what they’re playing for before the deadline. Not only are they playing to win, they’re playing to keep the roster together.

“[It] feels really special to be a part of this [team],” Chaparro. “We’re built for great things.”