The Washington Nationals added another infielder in a trade with the New York Yankees as manager Blake Butera dives into Jorbit Vivas
The Washington Nationals announced a flurry of roster moves as they inch closer toward a finalized 40-man roster ahead of Opening Day, set for Thursday at 2:20 PM ET against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
First year manager Blake Butera didn't waste much time to finalize his Opening Day starter after turning to Cade Cavalli midway through spring training, taking clear control of the role as the new ace in a rotation featuring three free agent signings. But one of the Nationals' latest moves added another piece to the infield after acquiring infielder Jorbit Vivas, who made his debut in Tuesday's exhibition finale against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Nationals acquired him in a trade with the New York Yankees in exchange for pitching prospect Sean Paul Linan, who ranked as the team's 27th-best prospect, per MLB.com.
With the bases a work in progress to address through the offseason, Vivas arrives as depth to the infield with experience at both second and third base. But he also adds someone that the Nationals are "pumped to have" with the 25 year old looking to build on what could be a bigger role in 2026 with adding "versatility," as Butera noted.
"I know it's another left handed bat, but does a tremendous job getting on base. Can play all over the infield. Just someone that we think really highly of," Butera said.
Vivas arrived in the MLB after signing as an international free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2017 before being added to the 40-man roster in 2021 to avoid the Rule 5 Draft, only to be shipped to the Yankees almost exactly two years later. His MLB debut came in 2025 where he appeared in 29 games, 15 at second base to 14 at third base, where he posted two doubles, five RBIs, 13 strikeouts and nine hits in 64 at bats. His first and lone MLB home run came against the Texas Rangers back on May 22.
In 18 games and 22 at bats in spring training, Vivas notched a pair of stolen bases along with five hits and an RBI before arriving in Washington.
Nasim Nunez and Brady House enter the regular season as the likely starting second and third basemen with Luis Garcia Jr expected to make the move at first base, but the arrival of Vivas now adds to the intrigue to the infield through the 162-game season.
Despite the limited MLB experience, Butera pointed to the body of work leading up to that as reason for optimism ahead of 2026.
"I think when you look at a guy like that, you kind of look at his track record and what he's done up to this point, and there's some intangibles and things underneath the hood that we really liked think we can tap into if we give them some runway and a chance to go showcase himself a little bit. But yeah, just like I said, excited to have him here and think where we can tap into something."