Yankees immediately demoting top prospect after promotion is absolute idiocy

Turns out, this team and organization isn't really different like we all thought after the New York Yankees' blazing start to the 2024 season. The same old performance lapses and roster strategy practices continue to live large to overshadow all the progress.

Nothing was more fitting than the Yankees blowing an opportunity to sweep the Orioles on Sunday with two inexplicable errors and another shaky Clay Holmes performance. From a "players on the field" standpoint, that's characterized the first half, even though the Yankees got off to a 50-22 start. Yes, they are now 58-40 — 8-18 in their last 26 games.

But from a player transaction perspective, the Yankees are at it again, making wasteful and pointless roster moves that continue to hinder the team's progress. We can go as far back as the employment of Dennis Santana, which went on a month too long and extinguished Ron Marinaccio's progress and development.

This past Friday, it was more of the same. The Yankees called up top prospect Jorbit Vivas after placing JD Davis on the injured list. Wow, what a move! The Yankees need infield help and depth for the second half, so let's see what the kid can do!

Or ... not? Vivas spent the entire weekend with the team, didn't log a wink of playing time, and was demoted back to Triple-A after Sunday's finale to further worsen the vibes after the 6-5 collapse.

Yankees immediately demoting top prospect Jorbit Vivas after promotion is absolute idiocy

It's just more 40-man roster manipulation from a front office that couldn't be further behind the times. Explain what the point of this was outside of having an extra guy on the bench in case of emergency? And explain why that's how'd you'd utilize a surging player who had been hitting .333 with a 1.113 OPS over his last 19 games?

The Yankees robbed him of reps, and now Vivas won't see the field again until after the All-Star break on July 19 against the Buffalo Bisons. That means he will have not logged an at-bat or time in the field in over a week. With how poorly Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu have been playing, you mean to tell us there wasn't one opportunity to slot him in at third base this past weekend?

This prospect promotion actually excited the fanbase. For a second there, it felt like the front office was trying to meaningfully work out some roster issues ahead of the break and trade deadline to determine their needs appropriately.

But manager Aaron Boone foreshadowed what was apparently the inevitable. The Yankees already had their minds made up. There were "no guarantees" for Vivas' big-league promotion, and that's how it shook out. Wasteful. Boring. Uninspiring. Just like the Yankees heading into the All-Star break. For the third year in a row in what could represent another colossal failure.