Cody Snavely
Before the Dodgers could make the signings of Joe Kelly and Shohei Ohtani official, the team would have to clear two spots on their 40-man roster. Shortly after Ohtani announced his deal with the Dodgers via Instagram, Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Yankees and Dodgers were making a two-for-one trade.
To clear the two spots on the Dodgers 40-man, LA would trade LHP Victor González and 2B Jorbit Vivas for Yankees minor league SS Trey Sweeney.
What LA is giving up
The Dodgers were put in a tough spot to make their two signings official as they were forced to trade or release two players and are giving up a good amount of value in Vivas, one of the Dodgers’ top-ranking prospects. Before the trade, Vivas was the number ten ranked prospect in the Dodgers farm system according to MLB Pipeline and is an MLB-ready bat who posted a .383 OBP throughout his minor league career.
However, with Mookie Betts moving to 2B full-time in 2024, there was no place on the active roster for the foreseeable future, especially since the Dodgers still have Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch on the team. Vivias posted a 60-hit tool grade, which is well above average and could make the Yankees’ opening-day roster come 2024, with Gleyber Torres‘s name still being thrown around in trade talks.
The other piece in this trade is fan favorite Victor González, who was a massive part of the Dodgers 2020 championship team. However, since 2020, the league has not been kind to him as he has battled injuries and inconsistencies. However, the Yankees are getting a lefty to add to their bullpen, who posted a .209 BA and .564 OPS against left-handed batters since 2020. González has one more option remaining and is under team control for another three seasons, which is a huge bargain for the Yankees as they look to replace Wandy Peralta.
What LA has gained
In this trade, the Dodgers could only acquire players not on the 40-man roster from the Yankees, which landed them a former first-round pick in 2021, Trey Sweeney.
Sweeney, entering his age 23 season, provides the Dodgers with much-needed depth at the shortstop position, which only involves Gavin Lux and Miguel Rojas on the 26-man roster. Sweeney was the number eight prospect in the Yankees farm system and had a .248/.361/.429 slash line in his minor career. Regarding MLB Pipelines grades for Sweeney, he graded out very well with an overall 50, which puts him at or slightly above the league average in projected performance. However, time in the Dodgers system could do him some good, and it would be no surprise if he improved dramatically this upcoming year.
Conclusion
Overall, this is an even trade as the Yankees get another left-handed bullpen arm and a high-ceiling prospect in Vivas. At the same time, the Dodgers cleared the needed space on their 40-man roster to officially add Ohtani and Kelly to the roster while also getting a high-ranked prospect in Sweeney.
Make sure to check out the latest Bleed Los Podcast episode as we discuss the Ohtani deal, the Dodgers-Yankees trade, and what could be next.
