Never Forget the Phillies Gave the Nationals a World Series by Trading Howie Kendrick to Washington

The Washington Nationals had a magical run in 2019 that ended with a World Series victory over the Houston Astros. One key player throughout the entire postseason was Howie Kendrick. Without him, the Nationals may not have even reached the NLCS.

Kendrick hit a grand slam in Game 5 of the NLDS to help take down the Los Angeles Dodgers. He then won NLCS MVP honors in a dominant sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. The veteran capped it all off with a late home run in Game 7 of the World Series to put his team ahead for good. So how did the Nationals land such a heroic player?

Washington made a franchise-changing trade back in 2017 by acquiring Kendrick from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash and pitcher McKenzie Mills, who spent 2019 in Double-A with the Miami Marlins. This move did not seem too newsworthy at the time considering Kendrick had just arrived that year and injuries held him to 39 games in a Phillies uniform.

Kendrick proved enough to sign a two-year deal with the team before the 2018 season. Unfortunately, a ruptured Achilles cut that season short, but the payoff for the trade came in 2019. Kendrick slashed .344/.395/.572 during the regular season (121 games) with 17 home runs and 62 RBI. It was clear he was having a special year, and his two postseason home runs raised him to a new level of stardom in the nation's capital.

Meanwhile, the Phillies haven't finished above .500 in eight years, a streak that has also kept them out of the postseason over that span. The team traded away Kendrick for nearly nothing after making a deal for him the previous offseason, and it looks even worse because they gifted a division rival a World Series victory.