Yankees-Nationals Luis Garcia Jr. trade looks weirder after reliever's quick demotion

Not even three weeks have passed since the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals executed a Luis García Jr. trade, but there are already some unexpected narratives emerging from the deal.

For one thing, García has cooled off considerably in pinstripes since debuting with a go-ahead home run on August 3. The 26-year-old arrived in the Bronx with a .283/.313/.560 line (leading the National League in slugging), 23 home runs, and 76 RBI in 104 games for Washington.

Through his first 13 games with the Yankees, García hit a much worse .216/.255/.333 with one homer and three RBI. The Yankees weren't expecting García to be Aaron Judge, obviously. But with Judge still out of the picture, New York needs more than this from García (and several other other underperforming players).

On the other side of the García trade, the Yankees shipped off to Washington a quartet of Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, Ben Grable, and Jack Cebert. Weirdly, Cruz - who started out topping the unofficial nastiness rankings - has already been optioned by the Nationals.

The Nationals just optioned former Yankees pitcher Yovanny Cruz

Surely, Washington was intrigued by Cruz's arm if they ended up acquiring him in the García deal. And it's not like Cruz's showings with the Yankees this year weren't intriguing. In four MLB appearances for New York (5.1 innings), Cruz tallied a 1.69 ERA. Armed with an upper-90s heater and a slider that's a nightmare for hitters when it's harnessed, Cruz has eyebrow-raising stuff.

Based on that stuff and his small Yankees sample size, the Nationals probably viewed Cruz as a potential arm who could contribute immediately in high-leverage situations for them. They needed bullpen reinforcements at the deadline, after all.

But Cruz has been less effective since the trade. Actually, that's an understatement. In six appearances with the Nationals (4.0 innings), the right-hander has accrued a horrid 11.25 ERA and a .474 opponents' batting average. He's blown two saves in two save opportunities.

Luis Garcia Jr. and Yovanny Cruz have underperformed since the Yankees-Nationals trade

Cruz has been far, far worse than Garcia, but neither player has sparkled. On the other hand, they are both still young. Both the Yankees and Nationals can still feel good about the future value of the trade (on both sides), even if, in New York's case, Garcia's numbers stay cold for the rest of the year. He's under control through next season and will probably be more comfortable in 2027 after more time spent with the organization.

"Judging" this deal 18 days after the fact would be foolish. But it's still notable to point out the awkward start to the post-trade world for both clubs. Early returns, as they say, haven't been good at all.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow