By Ken Rosenthal, Fabian Ardaya and Chris Kirschner

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have seemingly grabbed all the MLB headlines over the past week, with New York trading for Juan Soto and Los Angeles signing Shohei Ohtani. But a much more minor, far less flashy Monday morning trade between the two iconic franchises was needed to create the roster flexibility the Dodgers required.

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The Yankees are sending shortstop prospect Trey Sweeney to the Dodgers in exchange for lefty reliever Victor González and infielder Jorbit Vivas in a move that will open two 40-man roster spots in Los Angeles for Ohtani and reliever Joe Kelly, the Dodgers announced.

Source confirms: Yankees trading SS prospect Trey Sweeney to the Dodgers for LH reliever Victor Gonzalez and 2B/3B Jorbit Vivas. Move clears 40-man roster spots for Shohei Ohtani and Joe Kelly. First: @Alden_Gonzalez.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2023

In exchange for Sweeney — whom The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked as the Yankees’ No. 15 prospect entering the 2023 season — New York rebuilds some of the pitching depth it lost in the recent trades for Soto and Alex Verdugo.

González, 28, has made 93 appearances since debuting with the Dodgers in 2020 and carries a career 3.22 ERA over to the American League. He also comes with postseason experience, having pitched eight innings in the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series run and earned the win in the title-clinching Game 6 over the Tampa Bay Rays. He missed the 2022 season after undergoing elbow surgery.

Since being selected with the No. 20 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Sweeney, 23, has climbed as high as Double A in the Yankees organization. In 100 games with Double-A Somerset, he batted .252 and hit 13 home runs.

Ripple effects for Los Angeles

The deal, on its face, helps the Dodgers accomplish an important thing: it frees up two spots on the 40-man roster so they can make Ohtani’s signing official along with that of Kelly. It also provides some insight into how creative the Dodgers are going to have to be at points to access young talent since Ohtani’s signing (deferrals and all) likely means the Dodgers will continue to be regularly paying the competitive balance tax and dealing with the talent-acquisition penalties that come with it. That means getting picks pushed back, having their international bonus pools cut and worse picks even when they lose out on their big free agents. It’s not new territory for the Dodgers, but it’s about to be a regular occurrence.

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So the Dodgers — who have done a good job stocking the cupboard even with some of these penalties in place by producing real talents late in the first round and beyond and finding edges on the fringes (one of their top prospects, River Ryan, was acquired as part of a trade for a player in Matt Beaty who had been designated for assignment) — used that depth to keep things moving. Rather than just designate players for assignment who might still have value, they managed to at least partially address an organizational need. Sweeney gives the organization prospect depth at shortstop, which they were lacking, and still has upside being two years removed from being the Yankees’ first-round selection in 2021. That ability to play shortstop (and the fact that he isn’t on the 40-man roster) probably gives him more utility to the Dodgers than Vivas, who has been a productive hitter but hasn’t found a true defensive home.

González had his moments for the organization, including being the winning pitcher in the World Series clincher in 2020, but has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency the last few years since. Barring a strong spring, he was expected to be on the periphery of the Dodgers’ plans for their bullpen. — Fabian Ardaya, Dodgers staff writer

What it means for New York

The Yankees were in the market for a left-handed reliever with Wandy Peralta being a free agent. Adding González could give the team its replacement for Peralta. González profiles similarly to Peralta as a ground ball-heavy lefty who pitches to weak contact. A benefit for the Yankees in having González is he’s under team control for the next three years and has a minor-league option remaining, giving New York some roster flexibility if needed.

Vivas, 22, was the Dodgers’ No. 10 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) and is a year younger than Sweeney. Vivas out-performed Sweeney this year in Double A with the former having an .827 OPS and the latter having a .778 OPS. Sweeney was the Yankees’ No. 8 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, but his future with the team seemed cloudy at best. He exclusively played third base at the minor-league level, and both Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza were ahead of him on the pecking order. Vivas played second base in the Dodgers’ system and profiles as more of a contact-oriented bat who has some pop. — Chris Kirschner, Yankees staff writer

Required reading

(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)