Yankees complete marathon trade with Dodgers, swap top-10 prospects and add WS hero

Nearly 24 hours after a swap between the Yankees and Dodgers was deemed likely, the two sides have reportedly come together on the names and floated them in the public square. If you like "need-for-need" trades, this one's incredibly interesting.

After Ken Rosenthal hinted that it would be two members of the Dodgers' 40-man roster for one Yankee not on the 40-man, fans worked overtime to connect the dots and figure out a package. Plenty of folks landed on Jorbit Vivas, the Dodgers' No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and a player who seems big-league ready in 2024 without a role in LA. If Michael Busch can't get playing time, how could Vivas, a lefty who hit .269 with a .381 OBP and .788 OPS across two levels in 2023?

The one thing we couldn't possibly figure out was who the Yankees were dangling. As it turns out, we should've just typed "Yankees Prospect Who's a Lot Like Jorbit Vivas" and mashed the Google search button.

The deal was finally reported with clarity on Monday morning; 2020 World Series hero Victor González and Vivas to New York for No. 8 prospect and 2021 first-rounder Trey Sweeney, whose stat line looked almost identical to Vivas' last season (13 homers, 49 RBI, .249 average, .367 OBP, .778 OPS).

Yankees trade Trey Sweeney to Dodgers for Jorbit Vivas, Victor González

With Roderick Arias and George Lombard Jr. sneaking up behind Sweeney and Anthony Volpe/Oswald Peraza ahead of him, it seemed inevitable he'd eventually be moved. This is an unexpected way for the Yankees to do it, but also one that computes. The Dodgers needed a Vivas equivalent who didn't require 40-man roster protection. The Yankees provided them one, then also demanded a reliever looking to recapture his past magic for their troubles.

González, still just 28, hasn't replicated his 2020 season (1.33 ERA in 20.1 innings, crucial 6.2 innings in the postseason), but that doesn't mean he hasn't been workable when healthy (3.40 FIP in 33.2 innings last season). He's a changeup/slider guy moving from Mark Prior to Matt Blake, who should enjoy the groundwork his previous admins laid for his arsenal.

Ultimately, the Yankees moved similar puzzle pieces for one another and tossed an additional lefty arm in the mix. Both Vivas and González should factor into their 2024 mix, and there's almost no way Sweeney would've, though it's quite possible the "advanced bat" the Yankees drafted back in 2021 begins to show itself a little clearer in LA's system.