Former Yankees prospect's playoff rise raises further questions about trade mistake

In just a few days, Yankees fans will receive the answer to the October question that's been agitating them for weeks, if not months: is Trey Sweeney more playoff ready than Anthony Volpe?

Sarcasm aside, Volpe has looked like a defensive wizard with bouts of offensive competence since being anointed the Yankees' shortstop on Opening Day 2023. He's vacillated between power boosts and sacrificing for singles, and should probably stick with the first one, but he's going to be "the guy" for a little while longer, and was always going to be. Gleyber Torres, hitting spectacularly since being converted to a leadoff hitter, has been a calming presence at second base in the second half.

This isn't a column meant to examine whether Sweeney or Volpe is a better 2025 fit at short. It's just to note that Sweeney has risen swiftly, and the Yankees -- who could really use a second baseman next season -- handed him to the Dodgers in exchange for a reliever who's no longer here, and an infielder whose 2024 impact was so slight that he didn't register on the end-of-season Sporcle quiz.

It's true. Jorbit Vivas was here for a weekend in Baltimore, but didn't receive a rep. Not on the list. Kooky.

No one knows yet where Sweeney's postseason ride will end after a Game 1 two-out single and a slick play at short while covering the bag in Game 2. What we do know, though, is that the Yankees sacrificed the asset for next-to-zero 2024 benefit. Meanwhile, two separate playoff teams leveraged him much better; the Dodgers for Jack Flaherty, and the Tigers in their surging everyday lineup.

Former Yankees top prospect Trey Sweeney feels at home with Tigers in MLB Playoffs

Is Victor González going to make the Yankees' playoff roster, by any chance? Asking for an anxiety dream.

Sweeney, with a sweet left-handed stroke, was selected as a developing, bat-first small-school hitter. Think ... Austin Wells, if he went to a small Illinois college instead of Arizona. Selecting Sweeney was right in line with the Yankees' draft strategy of the early 2020s, but did create a bit of an infield logjam, especially when international signee Roderick Arias was added to the mix.

Along the way, he hit checkpoints, but didn't totally surpass them. His defense looked rock solid, but the power wasn't coming, and the bat was touch-and-go (sounds like Early 2024 Wells, actually). It didn't immediately click in LA's system, either; a June surge got him closer to being a consistent power threat, but still he hit .254 with a .761 OPS overall in Oklahoma City, a heightened PCL offensive environment.

The Yankees didn't miss him for most of the summer. Some fans still might not miss him now, despite his Game 1 accomplishment standing in glaring contrast to what the actual Yankees have done from 2017-present.

Still, it stings over and over again to remember that the Yankees made little-to-no use of him, while two other teams that are still around knew exactly how to play this particular card.

And it all began when the Tigers walked the Yankees off in the Little League Classic. Small, predictable world.