Nationals Make Another Trade With Giants to Bring in Left-Handed Reliever

The Washington Nationals made an interesting trade.

Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Earlier on Friday, the Washington Nationals made a long-term investment to their roster.

Jacob Young, who was coming off his career-best season at the plate during the 2026 campaign, inked a four-year contract extension. That will keep the elite center fielder in the nation's capital through at least 2030, as there is also a club option attached for 2031, as well.

President of baseball operations Paul Toboni didn't stop there, though. Per Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, the Nationals made a trade with the San Francisco Giants that will bring left-handed reliever Reiver Sanmartin into the organization in exchange for right-handed reliever Robert Cranz.

This is now the second trade between the two teams earlier in the offseason, as infielder Nate Furman was acquired by Washington at the start of November.

What Nationals Are Getting in Reiver Sanmartin

San Francisco Giants pitcher Reiver Sanmartin | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The first notable part about this acquisition is that Sanmartin is an established major league pitcher. He has 86 career MLB appearances out of the bullpen, including 24 with the Giants this past season where he posted a 4.22 ERA across 21 1/3 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts to seven walks.

Originally signed as an international free agent by the Texas Rangers in 2015, the now-30-year-old also spent time with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds before he was claimed off waivers by San Francisco for the 2026 campaign. However, he made limited appearances for the Giants since he began the season on the 60-day injured list due to a right hip flexor strain, as he didn't have his first outing for the team until June 10.

Sanmartin was designated for assignment by San Francisco on Nov. 2, so Washington clearly had their sights set on him since they gave up an asset to ensure that they landed him. And with a 32.1% chase rate that was above average and a ground ball rate of 62.9% that was in the upper percentile of the bigs, the lefty looks like he can be an effective arm for the Nationals coming out of their bullpen.

What Nationals Lost in Robert Cranz

Washington Nationals prospect Robert Cranz | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Washington decided to part ways with Cranz, who was a seventh-round pick by the Nationals in the 2024 draft out of Oklahoma State University.

Cranz looked like he could be a rapid riser when he posted a 2.02 ERA across 30 outings at the Single-A and High-A levels in 2025. He also struck out 45 batters over 35 1/3 innings pitched with just 17 walks, which made him someone to keep an eye on. But the 23-year-old ran into some trouble in the upper levels of the minors this past season, as he finished with an ERA of 13.11 across 13 outings with Triple-A Rochester where he struck out just nine batters to 13 walks over 11 2/3 innings.

Still, there seems to be some upside for Cranz, as he was elite at Double-A with a 3.42 ERA and 40 strikeouts to seven walks over 23 outings and 26 1/3 innings pitched this season. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how he progresses with the Giants compared to how Sanmartin performs now that this trade has gone through.

Overall, this appears to be more of a win-now move made by Toboni since he traded a minor league pitcher with upside for someone who can own a role in the bullpen now and in the near future. Whether or not Sanmartin can help transform this relief staff will be determined at a later date. But this is a notable move the Nationals made, nonetheless.