Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, July 31.

The Nats Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing!

Leading this Morning's Briefing: Nats Keep Finnegan at Deadline, Trade Floro

Despite the rather large trade hauls that were flying around for late-inning relievers during this deadline season, Mike Rizzo apparently did not get one that he liked for closer Kyle Finnegan, who will stay put in the Nationals' bullpen for now. Or perhaps teams were scared off by Finnegan's 2nd-percentile average exit velocity (91.2 mph) and 1st-percentile hard-hit rate (50.8%) - we will never know. As for Floro, the 6 PM Eastern deadline had actually passed before he was called into Davey Martinez's office and informed that he had been traded to the Diamondbacks (for minor league corner infielder/DH Andrés Chaparro), which in a way was convenient because all he had to do was carry his bags down the hall.

Last Game Out

Hopefully not many of you stayed up late to watch the most lopsided loss in Nationals history, as the Diamondbacks put up two touchdowns and a field goal in a 17-0 shellacking of the Nats. Patrick Corbin had one on and two out in the bottom of the second inning, trailing 2-0, before the bottom fell out as he allowed seven consecutive hits, including three doubles. Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez homered three times last night, and all four Nats pitchers (Corbin, Eduardo Sálazar, Joan Adon, and Tanner Rainey) gave up runs in the defeat, whereas the Nats themselves managed just four hits, all singles. The lone bright spot was that the final hit of the evening came off the bat of Nasim Nuñez, who is now 3 for his last 5.

Nationals Headline of the Day: Rizzo Talks About Deadline

Andrew Lang of TalkNats does a little analysis of the deadline acquisitions and Mike Rizzo's weekly interview with the Sports Junkies on 106.7 FM this morning. Even without trading Finnegan, the Nats' farm system is now deeper than it has been since at least 2011, and quite possibly since Omar Minaya sold off three elite prospects (Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee) for rental Bartolo Colón when the franchise was still in Montreal.

Down on the Farm

The final piece added at the trade deadline was Andrés Chaparro, a 25-year-old who has played both corner infield spots and DH this year (spending most of his time at third base). Originally signed out of Venezuela by the Yankees in 2015 (!!!), Chaparro joined Arizona as a minor league free agent this past winter and has spent the entire season with the AAA Reno Aces. With the caveat that Reno is 4500 feet above sea level and the Pacific Coast League in general is very hitter-friendly, Chaparro's .332/.403/.564 slash line is still good for a 137 wRC+ (meaning he's been 37% better than the league average hitter). He doesn't really have defensive ability at either spot, so is likely a DH candidate or bench bat in the majors, but the Nats essentially just acquired a more productive and much younger version of Joey Meneses.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day

This was a very busy trade deadline, and over at MLB.com, Andrew Simon gives you his all-traded team. Jesse Winker and Lane Thomas are both to be found there, along with old friend Erick Fedde, now a member of the Cardinals.

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with free and paid subscriptions, not affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.