The Brewers (64-43) hold the best record in baseball, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers (63-45) and New York Mets (62-46) as the division-leaders, and the Cubs (62-45), Philadelphia Phillies (61-46) and San Diego Padres (59-49) rounding out the wild-card standings.

Players will be moved, but the difference-makers seem to be few and far between, driving up demand around the league.

This was not a playoff team in October. Or a contender in September. This was the bad-bullpen, meh-lineup Nationals playing for nothing in July.