Yankees Announce Trade With Nationals at Spring Training

Story by

Charlie O'Keefe

Sun, Mar 22, 2026 ·

3 min read

Spring Training is coming to a close, and with that comes a flurry of moves around the league as teams finalize their Opening Day rosters and navigate roster crunches. The New York Yankees made one of those moves on Sunday, trading 25-year-old infielder Jorbit Vivas to the Washington Nationals for 21-year-old pitching prospect Sean Paul Linan.

Ranked the #16 prospect in the Yankees system in 2024 (h/t MLB Pipeline) , Vivas is a contact-hitting second baseman with the potential to stick as a bench player on most teams. The Venezuela native made his MLB debut in 2025 but struggled in his limited playing time, posting a .161 batting average and a .516 OPS in 66 plate appearances.

Vivas is out of minor league options, meaning the Yankees would have had to place him on their major league roster or otherwise risk another team claiming him on waivers. The Yankees seemingly didn't anticipate Vivas making their Opening Day roster, however, so they traded him to Washington so as to receive some value for a player they'd be losing anyway.

In Linan, the Yankees add an already-intriguing right hander to their superb pitching development system. Linan signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Colombia for just $17,500 (h/t MLB Pipeline) and played in their system from 2022 to 2023 before being traded to Washington for outfielder Alex Call last trade deadline.

Spanning three minor league levels in 2025, Linan pitched primarily as a starterposting a respectable 3.03 ERA in 77 and 1/3 innings along with an impressive 106 strikeouts.

Linan was the Nationals #27 ranked prospect going into the 2026 season (h/t MLB Pipeline) , and he throws a fairly pedestrian fastball that sits between 90-93 mph. But Linan's main appeal comes from his changeup, which drops off the face of the earth just before contact.

Using the 20-80 prospect ranking scale, Linan received a 70-grade on his changeup. A trait given a grade of 70 is considered well above average, suggesting that Linan's changeup is such a special pitch that he could make a career off of it. And although his low fastball velocity caps his present upside, there are few better places for a pitcher to be traded than the Yankees, who excel at getting the best out of their arms.

Linan will start the season in the minor leagues for the Yankees while Vivas could potentially earn a bench spot on the Nationals' Opening Day roster, which was shallow in the way of infield depth.

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.