ATLANTA (AP) — Luis García Jr. wanted to help but could only watch as the Washington Nationals suffered their fifth straight loss on Sunday.
García was scratched about 30 minutes before a 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He watched the game from the dugout.
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Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., left, is hugged in the dugout by first base coach Corey Ray (23) after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals' Luis García Jr. swings the bat for strike three for the final out of a baseball game with two men on base in the ninth inning during a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., left, reacts after hitting a double as Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies looks on during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., left, is hugged in the dugout by first base coach Corey Ray (23) after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., center, greets teammates in the dugout after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals' Luis García Jr., right, sits in the dugout with Andrés Chaparro (87) after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
A short time later, the New York Yankees announced they got García in a trade with the Nationals in exchange for four pitchers.
“I mean, it was weird, uncomfortable, going out to a dugout and then having all the other teammates look at you,” García said through a translator.
García has spent his career with the Nationals but acknowledged he was excited to move to the Yankees.
“I mean it’s a mix of both sad and happy,” García said. “There’s a new chapter in my career, so yeah, 50-50 right now.”
In exchange for García, the Nationals received right-handed pitchers Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, Jack Cebert and Ben Grable.
When asked after Sunday's 2-1 win at the Chicago Cubs about a trade for García, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was not in a mood to confirm.
The Yankees open a three-game series against the Cardinal in St. Louis on Monday night. There was no official word on whether García would be with the team.
Bird, 30, has a 5.93 ERA in 30 games with the Yankees this season, all in relief. Cruz, 26, has a 1.69 ERA in four games. Grable and Cebert have spent the full season in the minors.
Nationals manager Blake Butera confirmed he was instructed to hold García out even though a trade was not yet final.
“I was told something was really close,” Butera said. “But look, he’s (Luis) an unbelievable person, an unbelievable teammate, unbelievable leader for this clubhouse, unbelievable player, you name it. Done everything we’ve asked him to. ... We’ll always love Luis and he can always play on my team."
Being swept in a four-game series for the first time this season was painful for the Nationals, who fell three games below .500.
Perhaps more painful was the realization the Nationals were also losing García, a popular teammate who joined the organization when he was a teenager and this year has become one of the National League's top sluggers. Entering Sunday's games, García's .560 slugging percentage led the league. He ranked fifth in the NL with 76 RBIs while hitting .283 with 23 homers.
When asked about García as a player, Boone said “He rakes.”
Added Yankees shortstop José Caballero: “I know that he is a great hitter. I know that. ... So I’m just excited to see him here and what he can contribute for the team, for sure.”
The 26-year-old García said watching from the dugout was especially painful when fill-in starting first baseman Andrés Chapparo was hit by a pitch from JR Ritchie on his helmet in the fourth inning. When Chapparo was replaced the following inning, Butera turned to Brady House, who usually plays third base but made his first appearance in a game at first base.
Butera stuck with House, who only recently began taking fielding practice at first base. Butera said he removed Chapparo from the game “because he was dizzy and just didn’t feel very well. And any time somebody hits hit the head, just don’t want to chance it.”
Butera said Chapparo was “doing better” and had passed a concussion test.
Associated Press freelance writer Matt Carlson in Chicago contributed to this report.
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Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., left, is hugged in the dugout by first base coach Corey Ray (23) after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals' Luis García Jr. swings the bat for strike three for the final out of a baseball game with two men on base in the ninth inning during a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., left, reacts after hitting a double as Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies looks on during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., left, is hugged in the dugout by first base coach Corey Ray (23) after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr., center, greets teammates in the dugout after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Washington Nationals' Luis García Jr., right, sits in the dugout with Andrés Chaparro (87) after he was scratched from the starting lineup before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said Sunday.
The fires in and around Spokane, the state's second largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles (about 21 square kilometers) over the weekend and were among dozens of wildfires across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.
A total of about 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.
Fire and law enforcement officials said there had been no reports of injuries or people unaccounted for — but they stressed it was early in the response effort.
Officials also said that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital.
Video from the Spokane area showed buildings on fire, black smoke billowing up near neighborhoods, and the smoking ruins of homes, with only chimneys still standing. Several officials expressed concern that the area does not appear likely to get a break in coming days from the weather, which is expected to remain dry.
“We are not out of danger,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said during a news conference with federal, state and local officials in Spokane. “The next couple of days will be challenging.”
Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started.
Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.
Crews using bulldozers and helicopters continued for a 10th day to fight a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles (about 1,360 square kilometers) of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.
The weather in the area was expected to remain sunny — and dry — well into the week, with temperatures rising to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday. Officials say the fire was caused by lightning.
In central Utah, a massive blaze more than doubled in size over the weekend, jumping from 16 square miles (about 41 square kilometers) to about 56 square miles (145 square kilometers) by Sunday morning. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to local law enforcement.
Officials called the fire “catastrophic" as heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines overnight. The fire is moving north toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County. Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the southern portion of Fillmore.
The National Weather Service issued warnings about the air quality across the northwest. It issued red flag fire warnings for parts of Utah and Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for the southern parts of Arizona, California and Nevada and northern Montana.
While temperatures Sunday in Spokane were forecast to remain below 80 F (27 C), wind gusts from 35 mph (56 kph) to 45 mph (72 kph) had been expected by the afternoon, said Benjamin Cossel, public information officer for the federal response team from California called in Saturday night to deal with the fires.
“We have weather working against us, and we have terrain working against us,” Cossel said.
There were three fires in the Spokane area: the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire and the Meadowview Fire. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday, and the National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag alert for eastern Washington.
Cossel said that as it gets warmer during the day, cool air that's closer to the ground and keeping winds at bay will rise, allowing those winds to move through the area. The Spokane River cuts through the city of about 229,000 people, and there are steep canyons on both sides that channel the wind.
“They push the fire through the canyons, up, up the slopes, and then outside the slopes and around,” he said. “It's very, very hilly, very, very steep slopes, a lot of canyons that create really turbulent, really challenging sort of wind scenarios.”
Authorities in Spokane set up a shelter at the city's main convention center. About 400 people were staying there, officials said Sunday.
Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan said relatives of his were in an area affected by the fires and that they don't know if their home is still standing. He said he spoke with them as they were leaving the home.
“They’re in their car and all they can see is smoke everywhere, and it was incredibly scary for so many people,” he said during the news conference.
Heather Rosenstrater, president and CEO of Avista Corp., the area's electric and natural gas utility, said about 10,000 people were without power Sunday, down from a peak of 30,000. Avista needs to repair two transmission lines, she said, so it's possible that demand for electricity over the next few days could cause outages.
Meanwhile, several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane, including one about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the city that has burned about 210 square miles (544 square kilometers). Another fire in eastern Oregon, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the northwest in the Stinkingwater Mountains, has burned about 336 square miles (870 square kilometers).
“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” said Keila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what's been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
A vehicle and structure are burned on N. Skyline Dr. due to a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Structures along W. Tiffany Ave. are burned to the ground after a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Dan Munson walks in the backyard of his home on W. TIffany Ave. after it burned in a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Allen Sather and his wife Kimberley embrace at the duplex they rent on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
A small flame continues to consume a structure on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned down in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Allen Sather stands in front of his 1968 Chevrolet C20 at the duplex he rented on W. Indian Trail Rd. that burned in the a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
A charred van is parked by a building that burned down on W. Indian Trail Rd. in the aftermath of a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Kimberley Sather stands at the duplex she rents on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Andrew Rowley watches Old Trails Fire from Dwight Merkel Sports Complex after evacuating, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Old Trails Fire is seen from W. Northwest Blvd., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
Old Trails Fire burns near Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
