So far this trade deadline, starting pitching has been the main piece teams are chasing. However, things changed Sunday evening as we got our first big bat to move. The Washington Nationals have agreed to send Luis Garcia Jr to the New York Yankees in exchange for Yovanny Cruz, Jake Bird, Ben Grable, and Jack Cebert. This is an interesting move because it makes a lot of sense for the Yankees. But it feels like the Nationals could have gotten more for Garcia. So why did both teams agree to this move?
Making Sense of the Luis Garcia Jr Trade
The Yankees Perspective
Over the past few weeks, the Yankees have been hit hard by the injury bug. It started when Aaron Judge got put on the injured list with a stress fracture in his rib. To make things worse, Cody Bellinger will miss the next four to six weeks due to a hamstring strain. These are two of their most productive bats this season. They needed to add another bat before these injuries, but it made it even more of a need. They needed to bring in someone who could help the Yankees offense tread water until Judge and Bellinger get healthy. Once they return, it will give the Yankees one of the deepest lineups in the American League.
Garcia is currently having one of the best offensive seasons of his career. In 104 games this season, he has slashed .283/.316/.560 with 23 home runs, 76 RBIs, and an OPS+ of 136. His home run total is a new career high, and his slugging percentage was the best in the National League. He is a perfect player for Yankee Stadium. Most of his home runs and extra-base hits have gone to right field. With the short porch, we should see his home run total skyrocket. Giving guys like Judge and Ben Rice solid protection for the next couple seasons. Garcia also solves the Yankees catcher problem by him taking first and shifting Rice behind the dish.
The Nationals Perspective
At first glance, this trade does not make much sense for the Nationals. They are only 4.5 games back of the final wild card spot. While a gap is starting to form, a couple of moves could quickly get them back in the race. Especially with the way their young core has played this season. But this move is the Nationals selling high on Garcia. He may be one of the best power hitters in the game this season, but that has not been the case throughout his career. Before this year, he had not hit more than 20 home runs in a season and had an OPS+ of 97. There is every opportunity that this season is an outlier.
They sold high and got back four pitchers that could help them. Grable and Cebert are both prospects and appear in the Yankees Top 30 prospect list according to MLB Pipeline. Cerbert has seen his veloctiy go up since being drafted and his control is fantastic. Grable has been prasied for his velocity and his delievery has a decent amount of deception. On the other hand Cruz and Bird are guys that can help the Nationals this season. Cruz made his MLB debut this season and has pitched well in a very short sample size. Bird has struggled since being traded to the Yankees last season, but a change of scenery could help him become a decent middle reliever.
