RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesWASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 07: Yovanny Cruz #48 of the Washington Nationals pitches during the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Friday, August 7, 2026 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alyssa McDaniel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
In his first trade deadline, Paul Toboni had a pretty simple plan of attack. His goal was to add as much pitching as possible. More specifically, he went after relievers who were close to big league ready and starters in the upper minors. In total, he acquired nine pitchers at the deadline, and so far they have looked very good.
Toboni wanted to sell while not totally giving up on the season. The Luis Garcia Jr. trade looks like a perfect example of that. Trading away a bat of Garcia’s caliber obviously hurts, but given the return and the replacement, it does not seem to have hurt the team much. Abimelec Ortiz has picked up right where Garcia has left off, while Yovanny Cruz and Jake Bird have made positive starts to their Nationals careers.
Cruz in particular is a guy who has already been very impactful. In the Reds series, Cruz was put into high leverage spots on multiple occasions, and came through both times. The righty throws 100 MPH, but also has two nasty secondary pitches, with his slider being particularly nasty.
This Yovanny Cruz slider is the kind of weapon banned in the Geneva Convention pic.twitter.com/I1LwjYkQ0g
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) August 8, 2026
That slider has the potential to be one of the best pitches in baseball. It averages over 91 MPH while having real slider movement. This pitch is not a glorified cutter, it is a slider that is thrown at exceptional velocity. Cruz will need to finetune his fastball command, but he is already one of the better arms in the bullpen, with upside to be a legit closer.
Cruz is not the only guy Toboni received to make his mark in the big league bullpen though. On Sunday, lefty Will Dion threw three scoreless innings in long relief. The Nats received Dion as part of the Foster Griffin deal and he is a very unique arm.
Honestly, he is the polar opposite of Cruz, and this is by design. Dion only throws 91-92 MPH, but his fastball is more effective than Cruz’s 100 MPH heater. The lefty throws from an extremely high slot and gets 20 inches of ride on his fastball. That makes the fastball very tough to pick up. Dion has reverse splits because his best secondary pitch is a changeup which he mostly throws to righties.
Dion may not have the upside of Cruz, but he looks like a useful bullpen piece. If he finds a better weapon for lefties, he could be a good matchup guy. Right now, he is at his best in a multi-inning role. It is not a star, but Dion should be a useful big leaguer.
The success is not just limited to the major league level though. Josh Hartle, Ben Grable and Jack Cebert were the top three pitching prospects the Nats received at the deadline. All of them have gotten off to good starts in the organization.
Grable has tossed two scoreless innings in Harrisburg so far. However, his most noteworthy achievement is that he had a 4 strikeout inning last time out. Grable struck out the first batter of the inning, but the ball got away from the catcher, allowing the runner to go to first. The righty did not let that phase him, striking out the next three batters he faced to accomplish the rare feat.
a FOUR-strikeout inning for ben grable ⁉️‼️ pic.twitter.com/z5sKSDUACF
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) August 9, 2026
Interestingly, Grable got all four of the strikeouts on his slider. Entering the system, Grable’s claim to fame was his elite fastball. It is a 96 MPH heater with over 20 inches of carry. Grable also commands the heater brilliantly. Hitters just can’t hit the pitch, which is why he throws it about 75% of the time.
However, Grable’s slider was seen by scouts as a solid but not spectacular pitch. One question I had about Grable is whether he could succeed while being so fastball heavy. If his slider can take a leap forward, that would change a lot. With his heater and a legit slider to go with it, Grable could be an elite closer.
Cruz and Grable are elite relief prospects, something the Nats clearly were looking for in the Luis Garcia Jr. trade. However, they did also get an exciting starting pitching prospect in Jack Cebert. He made his first start in the Nats system this weekend and looked very sharp.
The former 15th rounder has had a rapid rise this season. He really impressed in the Yankees system before having some blister issues and getting traded. Now the blisters are gone, and Cebert is back on the mound. On Sunday, Cebert tossed 4 scoreless innings, only allowing one hit and striking out six.
jack cebert DEALS in his nats org debut 🔥 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K pic.twitter.com/0ZJH65rBKn
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) August 9, 2026
As you can see in the video, Cebert has a great feel for spin. He can throw multiple breaking ball shapes, featuring a sweeper, a cutter and a curveball. That ability, combined with his solid command gives him the ability to be in an MLB rotation one day.
He also throws a 4-seamer and a sinker as well. They are not very hard, but the movement on the pitches is good. Hopefully the Nats can find a tick or two here. Overall, he is an arm that I like and is someone who can make an impact as soon as next season.
Speaking of exciting arms that may need more velocity, Josh Hartle also looked great in his organizational debut. Hartle was the biggest name the Nats received in the quantity based Foster Griffin return. The lefty only sits around 91, but is deceptive and has great command. He also gets a ton of ground balls.
Hartle went 5.1 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 run and struck out 7 without allowing a walk. The lanky lefty used his deep pitch mix and low arm slot to fool hitters. He kept them off balance all...
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