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Nationals land affordable closer; Andrew Miller can almost exhale

The Nationals did little to hide how much Aroldis Chapman was their No. 1 target this trade deadline. Their skipper, Dusty Baker, who managed the lefty in Cincinnati, expressed his disappointment on the record when the Yankees dealt Chapman to the Cubs.

That shifted the balance of power in the NL further away from the Nationals toward the Cubs and intensified Washington’s need to find an alternative.

Mark Melancon is not Chapman. But he has been an excellent closer, having generated the majors’ most saves (114) since 2014. On Saturday, the Nationals obtained him from the Pirates for lefty reliever Felipe Rivero and Single-A southpaw Taylor Hearn.