The New York Yankees acquired infielder Luis Garcia Jr. from the Washington Nationals Sunday for four right-handed pitchers, Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, Jack Cebert and Ben Grable, giving a scuffling offense the left-handed power bat it has desperately needed since Aaron Judge went down on May 31.
Garcia, 26, is having the best season of his seven-year career. He leads the National League in slugging percentage at .560, is hitting .283 with 23 home runs, 76 RBIs and 18 home runs since June 1, second in the majors in that span.
He is under club control through 2027, giving the Yankees more than a deadline rental. He is also a pull hitter with a left-handed swing headed to Yankee Stadium, where the short porch in right field converts warning track shots into home runs. The math is obvious.
The Yankees needed this badly. Since Judge's injury, New York ranks dead-last in wRC+ and 29th in wOBA.
They were hitting as if the game had become extremely difficult. Garcia is not a perfect fit, he adds another lefty bat to a left-heavy lineup, and his defensive metrics at second base have been brutal.
But Washington was baseball's highest-scoring offense partly because of Garcia, and New York is getting him and a year of control for a package that does not include a top prospect.
Washington got pitching depth for a bullpen that ranked among the worst in baseball.