Athletics trade Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson to Nationals

The Nationals have acquired relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from the Athletics for righty Blake Treinen, lefty Jesus Luzardo and third baseman Sheldon Neuse, according to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal. The clubs confirmed the deal.

Washington has been searching far and wide for bullpen help over the last few months after relying on a combination of Treinen, Matt Albers, Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley in the back end of their bullpen. The A’s, who also have trade chips in Sonny Gray, Jed Lowrie and Yonder Alonso, were known to be willing to listen on any player and appeared to be a perfect match for Washington.

In Doolittle and Madson, the Nats receive two arms that are controllable past this season. Doolittle is club control through the 2020 season, earning about $5.7 million over the next two years before options for 2019 ($6 million) and 2020 ($6.5 million) kick in while Madson is due about $3.33 million for the rest of this year before receiving $7.67 million next year.

Doolittle, a veteran of six seasons with the A’s, has posted a 3.38 ERA and 13.1 K/9 in 21.1 innings this season after dealing with injuries over the past couple of seasons. The former All-Star (2014) has closing experience, saving 36 games since 2012.

Madson, 36, owns a 2.06 ERA and 8.9 K/9 in 39.1 innings this season, just a year after saving 30 games for Oakland. He’s been in the majors for 12 years with the Phillies, Royals and A’s.

Oakland receives a three-player package that includes a major-league reliever and two prospects ranked in Washington’s top 10, though the Nats were able to hold on to top prospects Victor Robles, Erick Fedde and Juan Soto.

Treinen, 29, has posted a 3.39 ERA over four major-league seasons with the Nats despite struggling to a 5.37 mark in 37.2 innings this year. He is controllable through the 2020 season and will likely see significant time out of the A’s bullpen with Doolittle and Madson gone.

Luzardo, 19, was Nats’ third-round pick last year after falling on the draft board due to Tommy John surgery. The 6-foot-1, 205 lb. southpaw has only 13.2 innings of pro experience under his belt, notching a 1.32 ERA with the GCL Nationals this year. He projects as a major-league starter down the road, coming in as the 10th-best prospect in Washington’s system (per MLB Pipeline).

Neuse, 22, was picked a round before Luzardo last year out of Oklahoma and owns a .291/.349/.469 line with nine homers in 77 games for Single-A Hagerstown this year. He shifted from shortstop to third base upon being drafted, but has the versatility to play a few positions at the next level. MLB Pipeline ranked Neuse as the sixth-best prospect in Washington’s system.