Who Should I Trade?

Paxton Schultz for Steven Cruz (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick	Experts' Pick
	Paxton Schultz RP - WSH	Steven Cruz RP - KC
Expert Recommendation	50% Recommended by 1 of 2 experts	50% Recommended by 1 of 2 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 388	‐
VBR	# 925	# 622

Projections

Strikeouts	9	21
Wins	0	1
Saves	0	0
ERA	4.31	4.29
WHIP	1.39	1.38

Misc

Injury Alert	MiLB	-

Expert Ranks

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 463	# 237

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 408	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Paxton Schultz RP - WSH	Steven Cruz RP - KC
2026 Stats


Games Played	25	31

Games Started	1	2

Innings Pitched	30.2	33.0

Wins	1	2

Losses	2	2

Saves	1	0

Blown Saves	1	1

Holds	0	1

Hits Allowed	38	27

Earned Runs	20	17

Home Runs Allowed	5	9

Strikeouts	31	41

Walks	11	16

ERA	5.87	4.64

WHIP	1.60	1.30

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Paxton Schultz RP - WSH	Steven Cruz RP - KC
2026 Projections


Games Played	13	24

Games Started	0	0

Innings Pitched	9.9	21.1

Wins	0	1

Losses	1	1

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	4

Hits Allowed	10	19

Earned Runs	5	10

Home Runs Allowed	1	3

Strikeouts	9	21

Walks	4	9

ERA	4.31	4.29

WHIP	1.39	1.38

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Paxton Schultz RP - WSH	Steven Cruz RP - KC
News
	The Nationals recalled RHP Paxton Schultz from Triple-A Rochester. Ari Koslow Sun, Apr 26th	Steven Cruz struck out two while allowing one earned run on one hit over one inning. Chase Davis Thu, Jul 9th
	The Nationals optioned RHP Paxton Schultz to Triple-A Rochester. Ari Koslow Sun, Apr 19th	Steven Cruz struck out three batters while allowing no hits and no earned runs, walking one over 1.1 frames in Friday's loss to the White Sox. Chase Davis Sat, Jun 27th
	The Nationals activated RHP Paxton Schultz off the 15-day injured list. Ari Koslow Tue, Apr 7th	Steven Cruz will start on Friday for the Royals against the White Sox. Ari Koslow Fri, Jun 26th
	The Nationals have placed right-hander Paxton Schultz on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation. Brenton Kemp Tue, Mar 24th	Steven Cruz struck out two batters over 1.1 scoreless innings while allowing no hits or walks in Tuesday's win over the Rangers. Chase Davis Wed, Jun 10th
	The Nationals have claimed right-hander Paxton Schultz off waivers from the Blue Jays. Brenton Kemp Fri, Jan 9th	The Royals recalled Steven Cruz from Triple-A Omaha. Ari Koslow Fri, May 8th
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Paxton Schultz RP - WSH			Steven Cruz RP - KC
Thu, Mar 26th	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#38
Sat, Mar 28th	@ CHC	Cade Horton (1-0)		@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-2)	#76
Sun, Mar 29th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (5-8)	#30	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (5-4)	#148
Mon, Mar 30th	@ PHI	Taijuan Walker (1-4)		vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)	#377
Tue, Mar 31st	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (1-8)	#264
Wed, Apr 1st	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (11-4)	#4	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-5)	#14
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-6)	#43
Sat, Apr 4th	vs LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#63	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (3-1)	#56
Sun, Apr 5th	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (3-5)	#117	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#58
Mon, Apr 6th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#137	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (3-9)	#44
Tue, Apr 7th	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-6)	#120	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#26
Wed, Apr 8th	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#80	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-4)	#83
Fri, Apr 10th	@ MIL	Aaron Ashby		vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#100
Sat, Apr 11th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#58	vs CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#405
Sun, Apr 12th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)	#160	vs CWS	Grant Taylor (4-2)	#49
Mon, Apr 13th	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (8-8)	#3
Tue, Apr 14th	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#113	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-6)	#29
Wed, Apr 15th	@ PIT	Mason Montgomery (2-3)	#116	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#54
Thu, Apr 16th	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (9-3)	#25	@ DET	Keider Montero (6-5)	#157
Fri, Apr 17th	vs SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#15	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-5)	#19
Sat, Apr 18th	vs SF	Adrian Houser (2-6)	#186	@ NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#67
Sun, Apr 19th	vs SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#86	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#46
Mon, Apr 20th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (5-6)	#124	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (6-9)	#40
Tue, Apr 21st	vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-2)	#76	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#70
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs ATL	Didier Fuentes (4-0)	#132	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#201
Thu, Apr 23rd	vs ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#219
Fri, Apr 24th	@ CWS	Bryan Hudson (3-2)	#163	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#142
Sat, Apr 25th	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-6)	#216	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (5-7)	#272
Sun, Apr 26th	@ CWS	Bryan Hudson (3-2)	#163	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-6)	#36
Tue, Apr 28th	@ NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#111	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#299
Wed, Apr 29th	@ NYM	David Peterson (4-7)	#85	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#184
Thu, Apr 30th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-8)	#35	@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-9)	#183
Fri, May 1st	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (10-4)	#6	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#13
Sat, May 2nd	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#58	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#92
Sun, May 3rd	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (3-1)	#56	@ SEA	Luis Castillo (3-8)	#65
Tue, May 5th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#48	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#26
Wed, May 6th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#95	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-4)	#83
Thu, May 7th	vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)	#377	vs CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-6)	#112
Fri, May 8th	@ MIA	Robby Snelling (0-1)		vs DET	Keider Montero (6-5)	#157
Sat, May 9th	@ MIA	Janson Junk (4-5)	#110	vs DET	Burch Smith
Sun, May 10th	@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (10-5)	#55	vs DET	Brenan Hanifee
Tue, May 12th	@ CIN	Brady Singer (4-9)	#159	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#405
Wed, May 13th	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#101	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-6)	#216
Thu, May 14th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (11-1)	#22	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (6-4)	#171
Fri, May 15th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#70	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52
Sat, May 16th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#201	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#130
Sun, May 17th	vs BAL	Brandon Young (7-2)	#134	@ STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#137
Mon, May 18th	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-1)	#66	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (11-1)	#32
Tue, May 19th	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (6-6)	#31	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#24
Wed, May 20th	vs NYM	Zach Thornton (0-1)	#241	vs BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#143
Thu, May 21st	vs NYM	David Peterson (4-7)	#85
Fri, May 22nd	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (5-6)	#124	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (7-6)	#8
Sat, May 23rd	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (5-4)	#148	vs SEA	George Kirby (7-8)	#18
Sun, May 24th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#240	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#13
Mon, May 25th	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (3-9)	#44	vs NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#67
Tue, May 26th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-4)	#83	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-5)	#19
Wed, May 27th	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#26	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (3-5)	#27
Fri, May 29th	vs SD	Lucas Giolito (2-3)	#344	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#37
Sat, May 30th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#51	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (2-8)	#103
Sun, May 31st	vs SD	Griffin Canning (1-8)	#145	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#114
Mon, Jun 1st	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (10-5)	#55	@ CIN	Lyon Richardson
Tue, Jun 2nd	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-1)	#187	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-5)	#90
Wed, Jun 3rd	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#42	@ CIN	Chase Burns (11-1)	#22
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ARI	Merrill Kelly (7-8)	#118	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-6)	#109
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3)	#115	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-5)	#14
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#71	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (2-5)	#128
Mon, Jun 8th	@ SF	Logan Webb (5-7)	#15
Tue, Jun 9th	@ SF	Adrian Houser (2-6)	#186	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-7)	#17
Wed, Jun 10th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#86	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#37
Fri, Jun 12th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-4)	#34	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (5-4)	#135
Sat, Jun 13th	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-8)	#65	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#181
Sun, Jun 14th	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#92	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#138
Mon, Jun 15th	vs KC	Mitch Spence (0-2)	#323	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#149
Tue, Jun 16th	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-7)	#72	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (10-2)	#62
Wed, Jun 17th	vs KC	Luinder Avila (4-3)	#226	@ WSH	Zack Littell (7-7)	#168
Fri, Jun 19th	@ TB	Griffin Jax (5-7)	#57	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#80
Sat, Jun 20th	@ TB	Ian Seymour (6-2)	#75
Sun, Jun 21st	@ TB	Nick Martinez (8-2)	#88	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52
Mon, Jun 22nd	vs PHI	Tim Mayza (2-3)	#185	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (7-5)	#20
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-4)	#11	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (8-5)	#33
Wed, Jun 24th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-7)	#53	@ TB	Griffin Jax (5-7)	#57
Thu, Jun 25th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (11-4)	#4	@ TB	Casey Legumina
Fri, Jun 26th	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#78	@ CWS	David Sandlin (2-1)	#314
Sat, Jun 27th	@ BAL	Brandon Young (7-2)	#134	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#100
Sun, Jun 28th	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (6-9)	#40	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (6-4)	#171
Mon, Jun 29th	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#24
Tue, Jun 30th	@ BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#143	vs TB	Griffin Jax (5-7)	#57
Wed, Jul 1st	@ BOS	Payton Tolle (5-6)	#61	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (8-5)	#33
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#113
Sat, Jul 4th	vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (9-3)	#25	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-4)	#11
Sun, Jul 5th	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#129	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-7)	#53
Mon, Jul 6th	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#181	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (11-4)	#4
Tue, Jul 7th	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (5-4)	#135	@ NYM	Cionel Perez
Wed, Jul 8th	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#138	@ NYM	Christian Scott (3-1)	#66
Fri, Jul 10th	vs NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#46	@ BAL	Brandon Young (7-2)	#134
Sat, Jul 11th	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-5)	#19	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (6-9)	#40
Sun, Jul 12th	vs NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#67	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#70
Fri, Jul 17th	@ ATH	Gage Jump (3-5)	#99	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#51
Sat, Jul 18th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#156	vs SD	Griffin Canning (1-8)	#145
Sun, Jul 19th	@ ATH	Jacob Lopez (4-3)	#204	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#330
Mon, Jul 20th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-8)	#277	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#173
Tue, Jul 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#430	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (2-8)	#89
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ COL	Gabriel Hughes (0-1)	#288	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#59
Fri, Jul 24th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3)	#115	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (6-5)	#2
Sat, Jul 25th	vs ARI	Mitch Bratt (0-0)	#198	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39
Sun, Jul 26th	vs ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#71	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-6)	#29
Mon, Jul 27th	vs TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#144
Tue, Jul 28th	vs TOR	Shane Bieber (1-1)	#74	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#95
Wed, Jul 29th	vs TOR			@ MIN
Thu, Jul 30th	@ ATL			@ MIN
Fri, Jul 31st	@ ATL			@ COL
Sat, Aug 1st	@ ATL			@ COL
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ ATL			@ COL
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ PHI
Tue, Aug 4th	@ PHI			vs MIN
Wed, Aug 5th	@ PHI			vs MIN
Thu, Aug 6th	@ PHI			vs MIN
Fri, Aug 7th	vs CIN			vs CHC
Sat, Aug 8th	vs CIN			vs CHC
Sun, Aug 9th	vs CIN			vs CHC
Tue, Aug 11th	vs CHC			@ LAD
Wed, Aug 12th	vs CHC			@ LAD
Thu, Aug 13th	vs CHC
Fri, Aug 14th	@ NYM			@ LAA
Sat, Aug 15th	@ NYM			@ LAA
Sun, Aug 16th	@ NYM			@ LAA
Tue, Aug 18th	@ TEX			vs ATH
Wed, Aug 19th	@ TEX			vs ATH
Thu, Aug 20th	@ TEX			vs ATH
Fri, Aug 21st	@ MIA			vs DET
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ MIA			vs DET
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ MIA			vs DET
Mon, Aug 24th	vs COL
Tue, Aug 25th	vs COL			@ TOR
Wed, Aug 26th	vs COL			@ TOR
Thu, Aug 27th	vs COL			@ TOR
Fri, Aug 28th	vs MIA			@ CLE
Sat, Aug 29th	vs MIA			@ CLE
Sun, Aug 30th	vs MIA			@ CLE
Mon, Aug 31st	vs MIA
Tue, Sep 1st	vs ATL			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs ATL			vs MIA
Fri, Sep 4th	@ LAD			vs TOR
Sat, Sep 5th	@ LAD			vs TOR
Sun, Sep 6th	@ LAD			vs TOR
Mon, Sep 7th	@ SD			vs ARI
Tue, Sep 8th	@ SD			vs ARI
Wed, Sep 9th	@ SD			vs ARI
Fri, Sep 11th	vs LAA			@ BOS
Sat, Sep 12th	vs LAA			@ BOS
Sun, Sep 13th	vs LAA			@ BOS
Tue, Sep 15th	vs PHI			@ HOU
Wed, Sep 16th	vs PHI			@ HOU
Fri, Sep 18th	@ STL			@ PIT
Sat, Sep 19th	@ STL			@ PIT
Sun, Sep 20th	@ STL			@ PIT
Mon, Sep 21st	@ DET
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ DET			vs CWS
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ DET			vs CWS
Fri, Sep 25th	vs NYM			vs CLE
Sat, Sep 26th	vs NYM			vs CLE
Sun, Sep 27th	vs NYM			vs CLE
Fri, Mar 27th				@ ATL	Chris Sale (10-6)	#7
Thu, Apr 2nd				vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#48
Thu, Apr 9th				vs CWS	Anthony Kay (6-4)	#171
Mon, May 4th				vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (3-9)	#44
Thu, Jun 4th				@ MIN	Andrew Morris (4-2)	#154
Thu, Jun 11th				vs TEX	Kumar Rocker (2-8)	#103
Thu, Jun 18th				vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-6)	#120
Thu, Jul 2nd				vs TB	Ian Seymour (6-2)	#75
Thu, Jul 9th				@ NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#69
Thu, Jul 23rd				@ DET	Troy Melton (5-1)	#106
Mon, Aug 10th				@ LAD
Mon, Aug 17th				vs ATH
Thu, Sep 3rd				vs MIA
Thu, Sep 17th				@ HOU
Thu, Sep 24th				vs CWS

Who Should I Trade?

Paxton Schultz for Steven Cruz (2026)

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