RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 4 sourcesATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 30: Luis García Jr. #2 of the Washington Nationals reacts after hitting a double in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Paul Toboni traded Luis Garcia Jr. to the New York Yankees, and it is very clear what he was looking for in the package. The Nats got four right handed pitchers in Jack Cebert, Yovanny Cruz, Ben Grable and Jake Bird. Three of the four arms are relievers, who are either already big league ready or will be next year.
The Nationals return, per source: RHP Ben Grable, RHP Yovanny Cruz, RHP Jack Cebert, RHP Jake Bird
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) August 2, 2026
Instead of finding high upside fliers, or even helping the farm system, this trade was about helping the 2027 and 2028 pitching staffs. It is a very interesting trade to wrap your head around because it is not the kind of move you see too often. Usually, you do not see deals this heavily based around minor league relief arms. However, with the Nationals organizational needs, the move makes sense.
First, I want to talk a little bit about what the Yankees are getting here. As we all know, Luis Garcia Jr. is having a monster year. He leads all NL hitters in slugging percentage and has 23 homers with an .873 OPS. Garcia chases a lot, but he makes a lot of contact, and more importantly a lot of hard contact.
Luis Garcia Jr. this season (374 PA): 🔹 .283/.313/.560 (.873 OPS) 🔹 .355 xwOBA 🔹 134 wRC+ 🔹 16.3 K%/4.3 BB% 🔹 23 HR, 76 RBI Left handed hitting infielder under control through 2027. Here’s his homer over the chop house this week. pic.twitter.com/d7fqB2dgc4
— YankeesMuse (@YankeesMuse) August 2, 2026
He should be in a first base or DH platoon of some sorts. Garcia, Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt will rotate between the DH and 1B spots. It is not the cleanest fit for the Yankees, but they needed all the offensive firepower they could get. Garcia should thrive in Yankees Stadium, and gives the Yankees bat to ball skills which they need.
Garcia was a long time Nat, who we saw grow up over the years. Seeing him blossom into the player and leader he has become this season was really special to watch. I know I will be rooting for Garcia in New York. It was an up and down tenure, but Garcia ended his time with the Nats on the best possible note.
Now on to the return, the “headliner” of the deal is probably Jack Cebert. I put headliner in quotes because there are three guys in here who have fairly similar value to me. Cebert is the only starting pitcher of the bunch, so he is probably the most valuable based on that.
Cebert has had a remarkable rise this season, going from a 15th round pick last year to a top 15 prospect in the Yankees system. For the season he has a 4.03 ERA with 96 strikeouts and 25 walks in 82.2 innings across two levels. He has been homer prone, but the combination of swing and miss stuff with good control is very enticing.
Cebert is 24 years old at Double A with a 4.90 ERA and 4.59 FIP, but also has a strong 19.7 K-BB%. The problem is he’s giving up an outrageously high 19.3 HR/FB (League average is roughly 11%). Hopefully not the headliner, would be an interesting secondary piece tho https://t.co/UbZK74XDFf pic.twitter.com/m5CeGSMlea
— Paul Cubbage (@PaulCubbage23) August 2, 2026
Right now he is on the shelf, but it is with a calf strain rather than an arm issue. Cebert has a fun three fastball attack that is very common around the league right now. He has a 4-seamer and sinker that sit around 95, as well as a cutter around 90. Cebert finishes off the arsenal with a slider.
However, the most interesting pieces of this package to me are the relievers. First, I want to talk about Yovanny Cruz who should slide into high leverage duties in the big leagues immediately. Cruz has a lot of what you want to see in a reliever. First, he has a fastball that has averaged 100 in the majors and 99.4 in AAA. Even though the shape of the fastball is not great, 100 is still 100.
His best pitch though is probably his low 90’s slider which is a true wipeout offering. He generated whiffs at a 43% clip on the pitch in the big leagues and almost 49% of the time in AAA. It just falls off the table and devastates hitters. He also throws a nice splitter to lefties.
Yovanny Cruz is rumored to be in the Garcia deal… he has this and a 100 mph fastball he’ll help in the one day 1 pic.twitter.com/bMTpBWT5Ek
— Nationals Source (@NationalsSource) August 2, 2026
For a guy with his stuff, Cruz also throws a lot of strikes. His walk rate was 8.8% in AAA and only 5% in his 5 big league innings. When guys make contact with the heater, it can be hit hard though. I would not be surprised if the Nats gave him a sinker.
The other reliever in the package is Ben Grable, who is not going to be MLB ready until next year. Grable has a monster fastball that sits around 96, but has a ton of life and carry at the top of the zone. It is one of those “rising” fastballs that plays above its velocity.
Ben Grable is another prospect that’s coming back to the Nats in the Garcia trade, which, like Yovanny Cruz, has an insane fastball Very very intriguing trade, I’m leaning towards I’m okay with it pic.twitter.com/s5aB8aqcQA
— Kev (@klwoodjr) August 2, 2026
Grable pairs it with a solid slider that plays well off the fastball, but the heater is the star of the show. He has also shown very good command, walking less than 7% of hitters this season. Grable was only drafted in 2025, but he has torn through High-A and AA. He should be ready sometime next year.
The last piece of the package is a curious one. Jake Bird had some solid years with the Rockies, but the 30 year old fell on hard times in New York. He has spent a lot of time in the minors since arriving there.
However, he should be a plug and play option in this Nats bullpen. He is a lower slot guy who relies on a sinker/sweeper c...
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