The Cleveland Guardians have completed a trade with the Washington Nationals to acquire left-hander Foster Griffin in exchange for four prospects.
Headed to Washington are left-handed pitchers Will Dion and Josh Hartle, right-handed pitcher Kendeglys Virguez and outfielder Nick Mitchell.
It was part of a busy day for Cleveland before Monday's trade deadline. Earlier Monday, the Guardians acquired outfielder Jo Adell from the Los Angeles Angels, and just before the deadline, Cleveland acquired designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe from the Reds, sending right-handed pitcher Alejandro Rivera to Cincinnati.
The Guardians entered Monday in second place in the American League Central standings, three games behind the Chicago White Sox.
Griffin, who is coming off three excellent seasons in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. A first-time All-Star selection, Griffin is 12-3 with a 3.06 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and 116 strikeouts in 22 starts for the Nationals.
He is eligible to become a free agent after this season.
Griffin, 31, doesn't throw hard -- among the National League leaders with a .226 batting average against, his average fastball of 91.4 mph is nearly 3 mph less than the others -- but he does have a cutter-heavy seven-pitch mix that includes a changeup and a splitter. He works laterally against lefties (sinker/cutter/sweeper) and more vertically against righties (four-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, changeup).
He recently had a streak of eight straight starts where he allowed one run or less in each outing.
In 2025, he allowed one home run in 78 innings in Japan. This year, however, he has given up 19 in 129⅓ innings but is among the MLB leaders with 12 wins.
Lowe, 31, is hitting .266 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs in 83 games this season. A left-handed batter, he is hitting .286 with an 0.855 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season. For his career, he has hit .264 with 119 home runs and 450 RBIs in eight seasons.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
