3 overreactions to first week of Yankees' offensively explosive spring training

Jorbit Vivas has surpassed Oswald Peraza

The Yankees helped the Dodgers out in December, clearing their path to finalize Shohei Ohtani's record pact by swapping prospects. They took Jorbit Vivas off LA's 40-man roster, sending Trey Sweeney and his significant upside out west.

Vivas, still just 22, has impressed in game action -- even more than Sweeney and his reworked swing have over at Camelback Ranch.

The optics of his powerful, swiftly-uncoiling left-handed swing are incredible, and he's managed to unleash his surprising pop several times already, homering twice in his first four at-bats. He's also managed to turn two slickly, which has helped him win the early battle for prominence with Peraza, who's been relegated to the road games.

Is this "shiny new toy" syndrome? Absolutely. That's why it's an overreaction. But the Yankees waited as long as they could to call up Peraza in 2022, debuting him in the ninth inning of a road blowout, just when fans were hoping he might be their savior and stop their summer skid. Entering 2023 as the most likely candidate to win the starting shortstop gig, Peraza was passed over by Anthony Volpe and never recovered, subtracting 0.7 bWAR from the 2023 Yankees during part-time duty. It's no secret he's lost some pecking-order shine since his first promotion.

Peraza could still be on the Yankees' bench Opening Day, but if New York picks up a veteran bat and demotes their bench kids (or if the shoulder injury that scratched Peraza from Tuesday's start lingers), don't be surprised if Vivas gets the call before the former Top 100 prospect. After all, he was acquired from Los Angeles because his closeness to the bigs limited the Dodgers' options in a crowded clubhouse.