The Washington Nationals have added infield depth, acquiring Jorbit Vivas from the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Sean Paul Liñan. To make room on the roster for Vivas, the Nationals designated Rule-5 Draft pick Griff McGarry for assignment.

It’s a classic depth-for-upside move. Vivas gives the Nationals a contact-oriented infielder with a solid approach at the plate, while Washington parts with a developmental arm in Liñan, who showed intriguing traits but remains a work in progress. This is the type of under-the-radar deal the Nationals have been leaning into—targeting controllable, versatile pieces while continuing to reshape organizational depth. No headline splash here—but a purposeful move as the club continues its roster build.

Now here’s the thing, per Roster Resource, Vivas is out of options. And guess what, so is José Tena, who is an almost identical utility infielder and a left-handed hitter. Now the Nats could carry both and option Joey Wiemer or Christian Franklin back to Triple-A. But the thinking is that Vivas was brought in for more upside over Tena.

Did the Nats have to trade for Vivas? Not necessarily. The Yankees were most likely going to DFA him since he was out of options and had to make the team. The Nats might not have wanted to risk seeing if they would get Vivas off of waivers.

The Yankees get the right-handed Linan in this trade. The 21-year-old Colombia pitcher signed with the Dodgers as an amateur back in 2022 as an international free agent, and was acquired by the Nats as part of the Alex Call deal at last year’s trade deadline. Linan had a 3.03 ERA across three levels of the minors, but he finished well enough with five innings of one-run ball in the Arizona Fall League. Known for a great changeup and fastball combination, Linan was the 27th-ranked prospect in the Nationals’ farm per MLB Pipeline.

Originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent on July 4, 2017, Vivas made his Major League debut on May 2, 2025, and played 29 games for the Yankees in 2025, but only batted .161, but did get his walks which gave him a .266 OBP. Based on his BABIP of .190, Vivas has some upside. He recorded a home run, two doubles, five RBI, five walks and six runs scored in those games.

Vivas, 25, hit .270 with 21 doubles, a triple, four home runs, 43 RBI, 64 walks, 12 stolen bases and 59 runs scored in 100 games for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre last season. He ranked eighth among all Yankees farmhands in on-base percentage (.389) and was tied for eighth in walks.

A native of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, Vivas will have to prove he deserves to stay on the Nationals roster. The Nats clearly like his contact skills and ability to work a walk.

The positional roster is now at 15 players with two cuts coming. One seems to be Tres Barrera as the team probably won’t be carrying three catchers — but with Paul Toboni at the helm — who knows.