OFFICIAL VERDICT: Yankees Have Officially Promoted Their Most Exciting and Fans Favourite Young Infielder Following Team Current Woes

Jorbit Vivas was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for the New York Yankees’ 2021 first-round pick, Trey Sweeney. It was a startling trade given the apparent value exchanged, and it appeared to age poorly because Victor Gonzalez was the “main piece” Brian Cashman acquired in the deal, and he has since been designated for assignment. Looking at Vivas and Sweeney, the Yankees appear to have the better potential, as their former first-round pick has an 85 wRC+ and a 26.5% strikeout rate in 82 Triple-A games.

Those similar issues do not apply to Vivas, who has a 123 wRC+ with the Scranton RailRiders, and the Yankees’ hitting development has worked its magic on him, with the 23-year-old hitting for greater power and lifting the ball more frequently.

Jorbit Vivas May Be An Option for the Yankees’ Infield

 

We’ve discussed DJ LeMahieu’s problems and how the Yankees desperately need an upgrade over him, but Gleyber Torres has not been fantastic either. Jorbit Vivas may come up and bring a spark to a Yankees team that urgently needs infield help, and while they should address some of their needs before the deadline, they could have an internal solution to add even more depth. Vivas’ finest ability is plate discipline, with a 16.6% walk rate while hitting pitches in the zone at a high rate.

Pitch identification is a critical talent, and Vivas has mastered it, allowing Ben Rice to quickly rise to the top of MLB pitching. The Yankees have worked with several of their top MiLB hitters to enhance their plate discipline, which Rice significantly improved between 2023 and 2024. Swinging at more mistake pitches has resulted in greater power output for Jorbit Vivas, who now appears to be an MLB-ready bat.
When you walk more than strike out while bringing lots of slug to the table, you’re doing something great, but the key shift I want to highlight is with his batted ball statistics. He has the lowest groundball rate of his Minor League career, and the Yankees have done a fantastic job with his growth there. Vivas has a 37.8% Sweet Spot Rate, which has allowed him to achieve more optimal launch angles for hits and extra bases.

The raw power tool trails behind other big names in the club, but that doesn’t mean the Yankees shouldn’t be optimistic about Jorbit Vivas’ potential. As a left-handed hitter, tugging the ball in the air at Yankee Stadium can compensate for a lack of raw power and allow a hitter to escape the yard even on a batted ball that would ordinarily be a flyout in centerfield.

Offence isn’t his only strength here; his speed and athleticism would be a welcome change of pace for a club that has struggled to produce baserunning value. Vivas has some speed that might help the Yankees, particularly in the infield, where both LeMahieu and Torres have low sprint speeds. The Yankees are lowest in BsR (-10.9) and by a substantial margin; transferring any of their slower players might help them tremendously.
Steamer presently projects Vivas for a 90 wRC+, which is greater than what we’ve seen from Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu, but another important consideration is what you’re getting defensively. Ben Rice has been a pleasant surprise at first base, with +1 OAA and +2 Fielding Run Value on top of an exciting offence, but can Jorbit Vivas bring some defensive value as well? According to Baseball Prospectus, Vivas has +0.6 Defensive Runs Prevented at second base and +0.3 at third base, placing him as an above-average fielder in both positions.

Minor League defensive metrics should be taken with a grain of salt, but Defensive Runs Prevented favoured Ben Rice’s glove at first base far more than the general public. It’ll be fascinating to see if the Yankees test Vivas at third base more regularly, as it might turn him into a flexible left-handed bat who can move about the diamond and provide some speed or plate discipline when required.

Jorbit Vivas is comparable to 2022 Oswaldo Cabrera in that both hitters used ideal launch angles and pulled contact in the air to cause damage. Unfortunately, we never saw Cabrera’s profile after ’22, but I’m convinced that Vivas will stick to his approach going ahead. This might be another success story for the Yankees’ hitting development, since they discovered Ben Rice out of nowhere and could transform Jorbit Vivas into a reliable infield player.

Jon Berti’s comeback may make it difficult to imagine a promotion for Jorbit Vivas, but he has undoubtedly entered the running for a post next Spring. The Yankees appear to like him a lot, and he’s already on their 40-man roster, so it’ll be fascinating to watch how they use him this season in terms of call-ups.