Nats receive Bird, pitching prospect depth by sending García to Yankees

ATLANTA -- Looking for pitching depth for this season and beyond, the Nationals flipped one of their hottest hitters to acquire a haul of four right-handers.

The day before the Trade Deadline, the Nationals landed prospects Yovanny Cruz, Jack Cebert, Ben Grable and veteran Jake Bird from the Yankees in exchange for first baseman Luis García Jr.

Here's who the Nationals received from the Yankees:

Nationals receive: RHP Jake Bird, RHP Jack Cebert (Yankees No. 14 prospect), RHP Yovanny Cruz and RHP Ben Grable (No. 25)

Yankees receive: INF Luis García Jr.

García, 26, was the longest-tenured player on the Nationals and had two years of club control remaining. He signed with the team as a teenager and made his Major League debut in 2020. From one of the youngest players on a veteran team to a leader on an emerging Wild Card contender, García left his mark beyond his career-best numbers.

“The emotions are sad and also happy because this is a new chapter,” García said on Sunday before the trade was official, adding, “There are a lot of great memories. … I love this team, I love my teammates, I love the opportunity they gave me, and I love the coaches, too. They’ve treated me great.”

RHP Yovanny Cruz (Nationals No. 30 prospect)
Age: 26
Major League debut: May 20, 2026

Cruz comes to Washington with a 1.69 ERA in four games (5 1/3 innings) at the Major League level this season. He also was 7-3 with a 3.53 ERA in 31 relief appearances in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. MLB Pipeline evaluated his scouting grades as fastball 50; slider 60, splitter 50; control 40; overall 40. His four-seamer reached 102 mph and averaged 99.4 mph prior in Triple-A this season, though he has gone with his slider (89-91 mph) most often on both levels.

Cruz originally signed with the Cubs for $60,000 in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic. He also played in the Padres and Red Sox system before signing with the Yankees this offseason. Last year, Cruz played on Double-A Portland in Boston’s organization while Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni was on the staff.

RHP Jack Cebert (Nationals No. 14)
Age: 24
Major League ETA: 2027

The Yankees selected Cebert in the 15th round of the 2025 Draft out of Texas Tech. In his first full pro season, he advanced to Double-A Somerset, where he was 2-3 with a 4.90 ERA in 13 games (12 starts). He threw 64 1/3 innings with the Patriots, recording an 11.1 strikeout rate and 3.2 walk rate.

MLB Pipeline evaluated Cebert with the scouting grades fastball: 50; curveball: 50; slider: 55; cutter: 50; control: 50; overall: 45. Leading up to his promotion to Double-A, he averaged 95 mph and reached 98 mph with his four-seamer in High-A, while his cutter sat around 90 mph and his curveball clocked the upper 70s.

RHP Ben Grable (Nationals No. 26)
Age: 24
Major League ETA: 2027

Like Cebert, Grable was drafted by the Yankees last year. He was an 11th round pick out of Indiana following two bouts with elbow injuries in college. Just three weeks into his first year of pro ball, Grable was promoted from High-A to Double-A and went on to a selection to the Futures Game. He is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 26 relief appearances (29 frames) with Double-A Somerset.

Grable throws his fastball 75 percent of the time for good reason; it sits at 96 mph, reaches 99 mph and has an induced vertical break that averages 20-21 inches. A mid-80s slider stifles hitters from both sides of the plate with its horizontal action. MLB Pipeline evaluates his scouting grades fastball: 70; slider: 55; control: 55; overall: 40.

RHP Jake Bird
Age: 30
Major League debut: June 16, 2022

Bird is in his fifth Major League season having spent parts of four seasons with the Rockies and parts of two seasons with the Yankees. This year, he is 1-1 with a 5.93 ERA in 36 relief appearances. In 30 1/3 innings, Bird has recorded a 1.55 WHIP, 9.2 strikeout rate, 3.3 walk rate and 1.2 home run rate.

He works with a pitch mix that is 36.8% sweeper, 36% sinker, 13.6% curveball and 13.6% four-seamer. This season, he is averaging 93.9 mph with his four-seamer. Bird was optioned to Triple-A Rochester by the Nationals.

The Nationals already made a major move to acquire young starting pitching. Last weekend, they received rookie left-hander Connelly Early from the Red Sox in exchange for another hot-hitting infielder, Curtis Mead. All-Star lefty Foster Griffin remains the Nats top trade candidate on an expiring contract.