The Nationals have dealt 32-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Marquis to the Diamondbacks for 21-year old switch-hitting shortstop Zach Walters. Walters came into the 2010 season as the Diamondbacks’ #29 prospect according to Baseball America. Walters has played in 97 games in A-ball this year and he is 109 for 361 (.302 avg, .861 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 9 homers, 56 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Walters has now played in 166 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 192 for 636 (.302 avg, .826 OPS) with 113 runs scored, 13 homers, 99 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.

Jason Marquis pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the Nationals this year and he was 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Marquis pitched in 33 games (all starts) in his two years with the Nationals and he was 10-14 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

The Nationals did a good job here getting a decent prospect for Marquis while getting the D-Backs to pick up the tab ($2.47 million bucks) on his contract.

The Nationals have dealt 35-year old infielder Jerry Hairston to the Brewers for 23-year old lefty swinging outfielder Erik Komatsu. Komatsu came into this season as the Brewers’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America. Komatsu as played in 93 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 94 for 320 (.294 avg, .809 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 6 homers, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 317 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 360 for 1,162 (.310 avg, .847 OPS) with 206 runs scored, 23 homers, 158 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.

Jerry Hairston played in 75 games for the Nationals this year and he was 57 for 213 (.268 avg, .727 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers, 24 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

The Nationals probably wanted to keep Hairston but they couldn’t pass up on this deal. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the Nationals took advantage of the Brewers here.

The Nationals have designated 43-year old lefty swinging outfielder Matt Stairs for assignment. Stairs played in 56 games for the Nationals this year and he was 10 for 65 (.154 avg, .426 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. Stairs finally looked his age this year as he whiffed 23 times for the Nationals this year as he was often overmatched at the plate. The Nationals needed Stairs’ roster spot for the newly acquired Jonny Gomes.

UPDATE: (8/1/2011) - The Nationals have officially released Matt Stairs.

The Nationals have acquired 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Jonny Gomes from the Reds for 26-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Bill Rhinehart and 22-year old lefty reliever Chris Manno. Gomes has played in 77 games for the Reds this year and he is 46 for 218 (.211 avg, .735 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 11 homers, 31 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 738 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 554 for 2,274 (.244 avg, .785 OPS) with 332 runs scored, 115 homers, 352 RBIs and 43 stolen bases. Gomes will likely form a powerful platoon in LF with Laynce Nix. Gomes does whiff a lot (695) but he also hits a lot of homers to make up for the strikeouts.

Bill Rhinehart played in 89 games for the Nationals in AA-ball this year and he was 78 for 276 (.283 avg, .963 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 21 homers, 59 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Manno has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in A-ball this year and he is 1-3 with 12 saves, a 1.04 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. Manno has only given up 20 hits in 43 1/3 innings this year while whiffing 69 batters. While the numbers for Rhinehart and Manno are impressive, neither of them are considered top prospects.

The Nationals must think they still have a shot at the Wild Card in the N.L. because this is the kind of deal reserved for contenders.

The Nationals are not going to have a firesale by any means this week. They are still considering offering the Rays a big time package for B.J. Upton as they think a change of scenery would do wonders for the very talented guy. Other than that though, it looks like the Nationals will be a seller. They won’t deal Livan Hernandez or Jason Marquis unless they get a nice haul for them and that’s a reach. Righty reliever Todd Coffey and lefty reliever Sean Burnett have a lot of suitors, so I expect them both to be moved by this coming Sunday (the non-waiver trade deadline). Laynce Nix is another decent trade chip with the Yankees, Indians, White Sox, Angels, Pirates and Diamondbacks likely having varying degrees of interest. Bench players like Rick Ankiel, Jerry Hairston, Alex Cora and Ivan Rodriguez are also available to any team that wants them. I don’t see the Nationals doing anything huge unless they deal for Upton.