Opening Day is on Wednesday, but the New York Yankees aren’t done making trades. On Sunday, the Yankees acquired right-handed pitching prospect Sean Paul Linan from the Washington Nationals in exchange for infielder Jorbit Vivas. Linan is now the 23rd-ranked prospect in the Yankees’ farm system.
Dealing Vivas to the Nationals doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as he was out of minor league options and had no place on the Yankees’ Opening Day roster. He played in 29 games for the Yankees last season, struggling mightily with a .516 OPS and -0.3 WAR. His most memorable moment came in the Yankees’ 1-0 win against the Texas Rangers on May 22. In the fifth inning, Vivas hit his first and only major league home run when he took Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi deep into right field.
Linan’s Journey
At 21 years of age, Linan doesn’t have any major league experience. However, he’s been pitching in the minors since he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January of 2022. In 2022, Linan pitched in 15 games for Dodgers Bautista, the team’s Dominican Summer League affiliate. In 15 games, he went 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 27 strikeouts.
The following season, Linan was promoted to the ACL Dodgers, the team’s Arizona Complex League affiliate. He failed to replicate his 2022 production, going 0-2 with a 4.54 ERA in 12 games. His strikeout numbers stayed consistent, though, as his K/9 sat at 10.9.
The 2024 season saw Linan move between the ACL and Low-A. He performed well in the ACL, going 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in six appearances. Low-A was different, however, as Linan posted a 5.05 ERA in 13 games.
2025 was the year Linan moved into a full-time starter role, and the results were promising. After starting the season in Low-A, Linan was promoted to High-A after six games in which he posted a 1.21 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings (15.2 K/9). In High-A, Linan wasn’t as dominant, but the 2.65 ERA he posted in 10 games was enough to get him promoted to Triple-A. In two Triple-A games, Linan allowed eight earned runs before being traded to the Nationals with Eriq Swan in exchange for outfielder Alex Call. He would play one game in High-A for the Nationals in 2025, allowing three earned runs in three innings.
What Sean Paul Linan Brings to the Yankees
Despite having a fastball that rarely gets above 93 MPH, Linan has a 70-grade changeup that is nearly impossible to hit. The pitch operates like a screwball, and it generated a 60% whiff rate in 2025. With this profile, it’s easy to see the Yankees moving Linan into a bullpen role down the road. But for 2026, he’ll start the year in High-A with the Hudson Valley Renegades.
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