What happened: The Washington Nationals acquired hard-throwing reliever Kyle Nicolas from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league infielder Randal Diaz. Nicolas had recently been designated for assignment by Baltimore. Struck by GMs Paul Toboni and Mike Elias, it is the first trade the two clubs have ever made with one another.

Why it matters: For most of Washington's time in D.C., the neighboring franchises stayed at arm's length, a chill rooted largely in the long-running MASN broadcast fight between the late Ted Lerner and Peter Angelos. With new stewardship under Mark Lerner and David Rubenstein and the MASN dispute finally settled, the deal reads as a thaw between two Nationals and Orioles front offices that are both aggressive on the waiver wire.

What to watch: Washington optioned Nicolas to Triple-A to rebuild his command; watch whether he can recover the control that made him a functional reliever in 2024 and 2025.