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The Yankees are swapping infield prospects with the Dodgers to add a lefty reliever.
The club on Monday completed a trade that sent shortstop prospect Trey Sweeney to the Dodgers in exchange for left-handed reliever Victor Gonzalez and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas.
The addition of Gonzalez fills a Yankees need for a southpaw in the bullpen, with Wandy Peralta hitting free agency, while the deal helped the Dodgers clear two 40-man roster spots to make way for Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract and reliever Joe Kelly.
Sweeney was not yet on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.
Gonzalez, 28, has a career 3.22 ERA in parts of three seasons in the big leagues, striking out 86 across 89 ¹/₃ innings with an above-average 58.2 percent ground-ball rate.
He did not pitch in 2022 after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery but returned last season to pitch in 34 games.
He provides a lefty presence in the bullpen and could be a cheaper alternative to Peralta — he is entering his first year of arbitration — though the Yankees have spoken with Peralta’s agent about a reunion.
Vivas was the Dodgers’ No. 10 prospect, per MLB.com, and finished the 2023 season at Triple-A, where he hit .226 with a .638 OPS across 26 games.
In 109 games at Double-A, he hit .280 with a .827 OPS and 21 steals.
The 22-year-old, left-handed hitter is known for his high contact rate and low strikeout rate, the latter (10.6 percent) ranking first among all qualified Double-A hitters in 2023. Vivas has primarily split time between second and third base and could start next season at Triple-A.
The Yankees drafted Sweeney with their first-round pick in 2021. He spent all of 2023 at Double-A Somerset, batting .252 with a .777 OPS and 20 steals in 100 games.
But the Yankees are well-stocked organizationally at shortstop, allowing them to move Sweeney in this deal to shore up another area of need.
With the additions of Gonzalez and Vivas, the Yankees’ 40-man roster now stands at 37, still keeping flexibility to pursue further moves this offseason before they would have to open any spots.
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