The Nationals were shopping first baseman Luis García Jr. at the deadline and eventually traded him to the Yankees. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that the Diamondbacks were the runners-up for García. Sherman then speculates about the Yankees now dealing García to Arizona for a reliever such as Juan Morillo.
It’s not surprising that the Diamondbacks were involved. They were in the Wild Card race in the National League but were getting subpar production from both the first base position and the designated hitter spot. But in the end, they got outfielder Lars Nootbaar and didn’t properly address those two spots. The Yanks needed a lineup jolt with both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list. They sent Yovanny Cruz, Jake Bird, Jack Cebert and Ben Grable to Washington to seal the deal.
Arizona continued to get limp production from first base and DH and just missed the playoffs. Those spots are still wide open going into 2027 and stand out as clear areas for the Snakes to improve before next season. Pavin Smith, Adrian Del Castillo, Tyler Locklear and Tim Tawa are still on the roster but no one in that group looks like a clear answer.
Smith has had some success in the past but he hit .183/.262/.294 in 2026. He made $2.25MM and will be due a modest raise in arbitration. The club may decide not to tender him a contract. Del Castillo hit .193/.246/.309 this year. Locklear hit well in 2026 but in a tiny sample of 15 games. His career line in the majors is .190/.275/.310. Tawa had a respectable season but should be bouncing around the diamond as a utility guy.
Arizona could look to free agency this offseason. Jake Bauers, Ty France, Joc Pederson and other bats will be available. However, owner Ken Kendrick has already stated that he expects payroll to go down next year. The front office may have to make some tough decisions about whether they dedicate resources to first base/DH or the pitching staff.
For the Yankees, their lineup proved to be fairly punchless when Judge was injured. They probably should be trying to hold onto a potent bat like García’s. He hit 30 home runs this year and slashed .277/.309/.521 for a wRC+ of 124. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a hefty $11MM salary in his final year of club control but that’s still a bargain rate if he can keep hitting like that.
There’s an argument for the Yankees to move on, as their first base/DH mix is a bit cluttered. Ben Rice will certainly be in one spot. Stanton would be in line for playing time if he’s healthy. He hasn’t been on the field much in recent years but has been productive when in the lineup. His contract has one more guaranteed season. There’s also Judge, who missed a lot of time this year and will celebrate his 35th birthday in April. It would be nice if he could DH from time to time to lower the strain on his body, with his deal running through 2031.
Moving García off first base could help but there’s not an amazing path there. He has lots of second base experience but was moved off that position because his defensive grades were poor. Once he was moved to first base, his bat improved. The Yanks have an opening since Jazz Chisholm Jr. is an impending free agent but moving García to the keystone runs the risk of him being a poor defender there while his offense also regresses.
The Yanks could consider third base but there counterarguments there as well. Ryan McMahon is signed for another season. The club could move on since he just had a poor season but García has no major league experience at the hot corner and his throwing arm has never rated well, even when he was on the left side of the diamond. He logged over 500 innings at shortstop in 2022 but Statcast put his arm strength in the 26th percentile of qualified players that year.
Maybe the trade block is the best place for García. Moving him could open up the roster a bit while addressing another area. Sherman speculates about a bullpen move, which makes sense with David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough, Michael Fulmer, John Schreiber and Tim Hill all heading to free agency.
As mentioned, Sherman floated Morillo as a target. Morillo just had a breakout year for the Snakes, tossing 64 1/3 innings with a 2.24 earned run average, 28% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 50.9% ground ball rate. He still has five years of club control remaining and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration.
It would be a sensible swap for the Yankees but would be more questionable for the Diamondbacks. The Arizona bullpen was middling in 2026 and they are losing Jonathan Loáisiga, Kevin Ginkel, Taylor Clarke, Ryan Thompson, Derek Law, Dennis Santana and A.J. Puk to free agency. They need to add to their relief corps this winter. Swapping out Morillo would only increase that need. The deal would only make sense if they felt it was better to trade for García and then add to the bullpen in other ways, as opposed to just keeping Morillo and then adding a first baseman.
For now, it’s just a speculative fit but it could be instructive as the offseason kicks into a gear. Arizona still needs upgrades at the first base position and the Yankees have one who is currently an awkward fit in the Bronx. The fact that the Diamondbacks tried to get García just a few months ago is certainly noteworthy.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
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