Livan Hernandez is Frank Robinson’s kind of player: crafty, with dogged determination and competitive fire. He wants the ball in every situation. He’s eaten innings in big chunks, leading the league in IP for three years straight. He’s loyal, perhaps to a fault. He’s been one of the faces of the franchise in recent years, and was the first player to throw a pitch for the Nationals last year. Despite not having the best stuff on the team, Livan was the default #1 starting pitcher because he could rise to the occasion – as his ’97 World Series MVP award attests.

Alas, Livan is 31, and probably only has another year or two left in the tank. With Stan Kasten and company building for 2008 and beyond, it was only a matter of time before Livan was swapped for younger arms. Yesterday, the team did just that, trading Livan to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 23-year-old pitching prospects Garrett Mock and Matt Chico.

The deal made sense for both sides. Arizona picks up a proven veteran for the NL West stretch run. Washington dumps a little salary and immediately upgrades the farm system (most analysts conclude that the pair are among the Nats’ top prospects). Mock appears to be the better of the two for now, but location problems have kept him from capitalizing on good movement and velocity grades. Both pitchers have high K/BB ratios (and relatively high hit totals), and they’ll report to AA Harrisburg to learn a little about painting the corners. Either could be major league-ready by this time next year.

Be sure to check out Baseball America’s take on the trade.

The Nats begin a 10 game homestand against NL East rivals Florida, New York, and Atlanta tonight, and hope that Tony Armas can return to his early-season dominance.

AP Photo by Nick Wass