Trade grades: Banged-up Nationals get help in Howie Kendrick

— -- ? ESPN Insider will provide trade grades for every deal before the 4 p.m. ET deadline on July 31.

The trade

Washington Nationals acquire: 2B/LF Howie Kendrick
Philadelphia Phillies acquire: LHP McKenzie Mills

Washington Nationals: C-plus

The Nationals currently have five outfielders on the DL --? Adam Eaton, Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, Chris Heisey and Ryan Raburn. Eaton is obviously out for the season and there's still no timetable for Werth, who took BP for a couple days but still can't run. Brian Goodwin is filling in for Taylor in center, so Wilmer Difo and Adam Lind started this week in left field. Once Werth and Taylor return, Dusty Baker's head may explode trying to figure out who plays as Werth can't really hit righties anymore and Goodwin has played reasonably well in his time (.246/.315/.497). The Nationals certainly project to have a terrific bench come October and Kendrick even gives Baker the option of using Daniel Murphy as the DH in the World Series if they get there.

Philadelphia Phillies: B

Mills recently ranked as the Nationals' No. 18 prospect at midseason, according to MLB.com, so that's a pretty reasonable return for a part-time player like Kendrick. Mills is a 21-year-old from Georgia, an 18th-round pick in 2014, who is having a breakout season at low Class A Hagerstown. He features a low-90s fastball and plus curveball with a nice build at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. He has a 3.01 ERA while holding batters to a .204 average with 118 strikeouts and 22 walks in 104.2 innings, so there's some nice stats result to go with the scouting report. As with all these low Class A pitchers, Mills is a long shot, but getting a guy like him is exactly why the Phillies acquired Kendrick from the Dodgers in the first place.