The trade:
The Yankees acquired LHP Victor Gonzalez and IF Jorbit Vivas from the Dodgers for IF Trey Sweeney
The suspense is over. After 24 hours of speculating over who was involved in this trade, we received an official announcement today. While relatively minor, it isn’t a throwaway deal.
The Dodgers needed roster space. The Yankees had roster space to spare. Mix those and you have the ingredients for a trade.
With Wandy Peralta on the free agent market, the Yankees needed left-handed relief help. Gonzalez, who won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 campaign, owns a 3.22 ERA (3.35 FIP) over 89.1 career innings with a 23.2% K, 8.4% BB, and 58.1% GB. In almost three seasons with the Yankees, Peralta pitched to a 2.82 ERA (4.06 FIP) over 153 innings with a 21% K, 10.3% BB and 56.5% BB. As you may suspect, Gonzalez is a sinker-heavy pitcher (63.7% usage). While Peralta has a sinker in his profile, his most used pitch is a changeup.
Also important: The Yankees will save money if they replace Peralta with Gonzalez. Gonzalez is projected to make around $1 million while Peralta earned just over $3 million in 2023. It is possible that the Yankees still have interest in Peralta, but do they need two ground ball heavy left-handed relievers?
The prospect swap is intriguing.
Sweeney, a shortstop who was chosen in the first round of the 2021 draft out of Eastern Illinois, is coming off a season where he hit .252//367/.411 (118 wRC+) in Double-A Somerset with 13 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Impressively, he compiled a strikeout rate below 20% (19.1) while walking at a 13.8% clip. There have been questions in the past about whether he can stick at shortstop or move to another defensive position. If third base is his ultimate destination, the offensive bar goes up. Just like with the Yankees, it is hard to crack the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. Sweeney is Rule 5 eligible after the 2024 season, so this may not be his final destination over the next several months.
Vivas, a left-handed bat who signed for $300,000 back in 2017, has started 318 games at second base and 112 games at third base in his minor league career. From his Pipeline profile, his MLB position would likely be second base. In 2023, he was solid at Double-A Tulsa (.280/.391/.436 (123 wRC+) in 109 games) before struggling upon his promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City (.226/.339/.294 (63 wRC+) in 26 games). He will start 2024 in Scranton, with an opportunity to make it to MLB at some point during the season. Can he rise to the point where he can be a replacement for Gleyber Torres in 2025? Maybe. A lot can happen between now and then. As this is his final option year, he will need to prove that he is worthy of a 26-man roster slot in 2025 and beyond before we even dream of him becoming an everyday player.
Bottom Line:
The Yankees had the leverage, as the Dodgers needed space. They used that leverage to extract an intriguing reliever while swapping out a 2024 Rule 5 eligible infielder for a 40-man roster infielder with one option remaining. I must wonder if the Dodgers asked for a pitcher but the Yankees were able to get them off that ask. From that perspective, it is a win for the Yankees. However, the Dodgers accomplished their goal as well.
While it is expected that your first-round picks will eventually gain value, we can still say that this is a win for player development.
The Yankees have been busy this winter. They are improving the team at the margins (Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham, Gonzalez) while adding the superstar outfielder (Juan Soto). There is still work to be done, especially with the rotation.
If you are a Yankees fan, you have to be excited about the direction they are taking for 2024.