The Washington Nationals traded first baseman Luis García Jr. to the New York Yankees for right-handed pitchers Jack Cebert, Ben Grable, Jake Bird, and Yovanny Cruz, the teams announced Sunday.
The 26-year-old García is having a career year for the Nationals, with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs in 357 at-bats. His .560 slugging percentage leads the NL and is third in MLB behind Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and future teammate Ben Rice of the Yankees.
New York already has two first basemen on the roster in Rice and Paul Goldschmidt. García, a left-handed hitter who does most of his damage against righties, will likely platoon with Goldschmidt while Rice operates as the designated hitter until Giancarlo Stanton returns from a calf injury. The Yankees are also playing without three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, who is sidelined with a fractured rib.
Over the last 40 games, among other items, NYY have lowest BA and fewest runs and a big problem has been a MLB-high 27.7 K pct in that time. García has struck out in 16.3 pct of PAs this year. https://t.co/eAhRJGFgpr
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) August 2, 2026
García has played all of his defensive reps at first base this season, but he also has experience at second base and shortstop.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was excited about acquiring García after hearing about the deal.
"He rakes," Boone said, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers.
Bird and Cruz could slot into the Nationals' bullpen immediately. The 30-year-old Bird owns a 4.90 ERA and 8.5 K/9 in 227 big-league appearances, while Cruz has been solid (1.69 ERA, 10.1 K/9) in four MLB outings this season. Washington's bullpen ranks 27th with a combined 4.78 ERA.
Cebert (14th) and Grable (25th) both ranked among the Yankees' top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
