James Wood has not directly made a case that the Washington Nationals should buy at the Aug. 3 trade deadline. But in the final series before the All-Star break, Wood paused in the dugout to chat about his swing and, indirectly, the sort of influence it might have on the decision.The Nationals have MLB’s best offense, as well as its youngest. But what the front office will need to weigh now is whether Wood and the rest of the offense would actually be effective against the kinds of arms that they’d face in the postseason.Whether or not you believe experience matters in October, or that maximizing matchups — a lynchpin of the team’s success this season — can hold up in the postseason, there is overwhelming evidence that the overall level of pitching gets better as the calendar turns.So, it follows that players who can hit anyone and anything are better equipped to take a team further.Wood may be one of those players.“I don’t know if the process is any different,” Wood said ahead of the Nationals getting back to .500 (50-50) by taking two of three over the weekend against the Athletics. “I think maybe I’m just getting better.”The Nationals’ 23-year-old slugger could be an NL MVP finalist this season. Through 100 games, he’s hitting .272 with 28 home runs and a .957 OPS. He leads MLB in runs and walks. More importantly, that production has come in part by doing damage against the game’s best arms.Ken’s Week in Baseball: What will the Mets do with Francisco Lindor?Ken RosenthalConsider the series entering the break against the New York Yankees, the most recent postseason contender on Washington’s schedule. Lefties like the Yankees’ Tim Hill are almost custom-built to punish hitters like Wood.When Wood stepped to the plate against Hill on July 10, the lefty and his awkward side-armed throwing angle had limited left-handed hitters to just one home run and a .469 OPS. That distinct arm angle is precisely the kind of weapon that teams lean on in October to silence left-handed sluggers.