Garcia Jr. traded to the Yankees

[Slateman]

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/2084025743403553212

BREAKING: The New York Yankees are acquiring infielder Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals, sources tell ESPN. Garcia, 26, leads the National League in slugging percentage and is hitting .283/.313/.560 with 23 home runs. He’s under club control through end of 2027.

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/2084025962677575779

The Yankees will be sending four prospects to the Nationals in the Luis García Jr. trade, sources tell ESPN.

[bluestreak]

Per Passan:

BREAKING: The New York Yankees are acquiring infielder Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals for four right-handed pitchers, including one with major league experience, sources tell ESPN. Garcia, 26, leads the National League in slugging percentage and is hitting .283/.313/.560 with 23 home runs. He’s under club control through end of 2027.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Well, the quantity sounds good.

no "lousy food and such small portions" return.

There's a chance he ends up being the best hitter in MLB to be dealt at the deadline.

[imref]

Four prospects coming back per Passan. Waiting on names.

Nusbaum confirms.

[Section214]

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/2084025743403553212
https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/2084025962677575779

I hope it's four bullpen arms. Good luck to Luis, fun player to root for having an awesome year. I bet he will love playing for the Yankees, New York City kid. Happy for him.

[Squab]

Per Passan:

BREAKING: The New York Yankees are acquiring infielder Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals for four right-handed pitchers, including one with major league experience, sources tell ESPN. Garcia, 26, leads the National League in slugging percentage and is hitting .283/.313/.560 with 23 home runs. He’s under club control through end of 2027.

4 RHP, Yovanny Cruz the major leaguer perhaps?

[Squab]

The Nationals return, per source: RHP Ben Grable, RHP Yovanny Cruz, RHP Jack Cebert, RHP Jake Bird

https://x.com/spencernusbaum_/status/2084027765368516919

[varoadking]

So we're going from all hitting/no pitching to all pitching/no hitting... 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Yankees traded Camilo Doval (RP) for for Omar Alfonzo (C) and Luis Cruz (OF). They had recalled Yovanny Cruz, but that may be for the trade.

[OfftheBat]

Rebuild rebooted for the 27th time

All jokes aside, are these prospects any good?

[Slateman]

https://x.com/spencernusbaum_/status/2084027765368516919

The Nationals return, per source: RHP Ben Grable, RHP Yovanny Cruz, RHP Jack Cebert, RHP Jake Bird

[NatsLSU]

Yovanny is a real solid return.

[IdahoNat]

Rebuild rebooted for the 27th time

All jokes aside, are these prospects any good?

One of them isn't even a prospect, some MLB junk that will fit into our bullpen well.

[bluestreak]

Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, Ben Grable, Jack Cebert

[Slateman]

Cebert: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jack-cebert/sa3028683/stats/pitching

Fangraphs write up:

Cebert spent three years at South Florida before transferring to Texas Tech for his senior year. Tech is known to leave developmental meat on the bone, so it’s not necessarily surprising that Cebert got better in pro ball, but how much and how quickly he improved is pretty amazing. His fastball sat 91-93 during the Big 12 tournament in May, then was 93-98 after the draft, albeit in a very small sample. It’s possible rest is the only thing responsible for Cebert’s burst; he was a starter at USF and a long reliever at Tech, but he worked an inning at a time post-draft.

Cebert could stand to locate his fastball at the top of the zone more often; he was peppering the low-and-arm-side quadrant too often in college and barely generated any swing and miss. His upper-80s cutter and low-80s slider also played like below-average pitches, but they have above-average pure spin. Cebert moves well and is built like a big league pitcher at a strapping 6-foot-3, so the raw physical material for the Yankees to work with is here. The big velo boost is enough to put Cebert on the radar, but the context makes us want to see him prove he can throw that hard all year before moving him higher on this list.

 Grable: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/bennett-grable/sa3032539/stats/pitching

Cruz: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/yovanny-cruz/22622/stats/pitching

Bird: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jake-bird/21267/stats/pitching

[Slateman]

That's at least two bullpen arms that will be in the majors this week

[Squab]

Grable - AA reliever with 2.8 ERA and 12 K/9 2.5 BB/9
Cebert - #11 Prospect, starter struggling a bit in AA with good peripherals
Bird - bad reliever that Yankees can clear from their 40 man?
Cruz - 100mph reliever recently called up MLB reliever with 3.5 ERA in AAA, has cut walks down big time this year. lights out in 4 appearances so far.

[varoadking]

Grable - AA reliever with 2.8 ERA and 12 K/9 2.5 BB/9
Cebert - #11 Prospect, starter struggling a bit in AA with good peripherals
Bird - bad reliever that Yankees can clear from their 40 man?
Cruz - 100mph reliever recently called up MLB reliever with 3.5 ERA in AAA, has cut walks down big time this year.

So we got fleeced...

[NatsLSU]

Hopefully he's a better Henry Rodriguez.

[IdahoNat]

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Bird and Cruz  I would think immediately slot in in relief.

Grable is a 2025 11th rounder who has made it  to AA with some good results as a reliever. 33 K%, 6.8 BB%, 3.0 HR/FB%, 2.79 ERA /2.26 FIP, 29 IP over 26 appearances.

Wouldn't surprise me if they assign him to Rochester.

[Squab]

So we got fleeced...

Cebert slots in probably 13-15 on our farm. Grable was #25 on MLB pipeline, probably ~30 for us.

Cruz is probably our new best reliever with 6 years of control. Bird is one for the AAA shuttle squad.

If Cruz is legit, he probably accumulates similar WAR in 6 years that Luis does in the next 1.5 for the Yankees. I think I don't hate it!

[Squab]

I think if we'd got one of their Top 10 starting pitchers instead of Cebert (Lalane or Hess) it would have been great.

[Natsinpwc]

Looks like we went for quantity.  What position is Luis going to play in NY? He’s kit going to move Goldschmidt off 1B. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Grable is a reliever, but he sounds like a stud. 99.6 MPH on his fastball. If you look at his contact distribution on his FG page, he is very hard to pull.

Found this discussion of his fastball. Velocity and movement, and he doesn't walk guys.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/yankees-prospect-ben-grable-no-025436770.html

Grable said he is averaging 96.1 mph with his four-seamer and about 20.5 to 21 inches of induced vertical break — essentially the movement generated from how the ball spins. The more vertical break, the more the ball seems to rise (and the more hitters tend to swing under the pitch).

There are three qualified major leaguers (Alex Vesia, Tobias Myers and Dylan Lee) whose four-seamers average 20 inches of vertical break. None has a fastball that buzzes at even 94 mph.

There are plenty of pitchers whose fastball are as fast as Grable's, but none fight gravity like his four-seamer. The closest comparison might be the Padres' Jeremiah Estrada, whose heater has averaged 95.8 mph with 19.8 inches of vertical break this year. In the past three years in San Diego, Estrada has often been untouchable with a 3.26 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 154 ²/₃ innings.