Yankees Take a Flier on Rockies Gas: RHP Angel Chivilli Acquired for T.J. Rumfield

The Yankees made a move Wednesday that won’t win the back page… but might win them a bullpen inning (or ten) if it clicks.

Per Jack Curry, the Yankees have acquired right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league first baseman T.J. Rumfield. One-for-one. Simple deal. Clean swap. The kind of transaction that screams “pitching lab project.”

And if you’ve been paying attention to how the Yankees operate when they’re not dropping nine-figure contracts, you know exactly what this is: stuff first, results later.

23 years old. Not great for the Rockies last season. Pitched well in LIDOM 0.96 ERA in only a sample size of 9.1 IP. https://t.co/gtJk3TCSWS

— NYY UNDERGROUND (@NYYUNDERGROUND) January 28, 2026

Who is Angel Chivilli?

Chivilli is 23 years old, a Dominican right-hander born July 28, 2002 in La Victoria. He signed with Colorado as an international free agent in 2018, and the Rockies added him to their 40-man roster in November 2023 to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

He debuted in the majors on June 3, 2024, and his early MLB story was basically: “interesting arm, learning on the fly.” In 2024, he logged 30 appearances with a 4.55 ERA across 31.2 innings, striking out 28 and walking 10. He also picked up his first career save on August 20, 2024.

Then 2025 happened, and it got messy: 7.06 ERA in 43 appearances. That’s the part that makes people roll their eyes. But here’s the part the Yankees are staring at: the arm talent didn’t vanish — the execution did.

Why the Yankees did it

This is the Yankees betting on traits, not the scoreboard. Chivilli averaged 97.1 mph on his four-seamer last season and has shown the ability to miss bats and generate grounders — even if the finished product has been inconsistent in the majors.

That’s the hook. That’s the bet.

And let’s be honest: getting a power arm out of Colorado’s environment and into a more controlled development machine is exactly the type of “maybe we can fix this” swing the Yankees love to take.

• Velocity: real (upper-90s).
• Whiffs: present (even if the strikeout totals haven’t fully matched the pitch quality yet).
• Ground balls: part of the profile.
• Age/Control: young and team-controlled for years.

And here’s the practical detail that matters: Chivilli still has an option remaining, so the Yankees aren’t forced to carry him if he’s not ready out of the gate. He can be refined, tweaked, rebuilt — whatever word you want — without lighting a roster spot on fire.

What the Rockies get: T.J. Rumfield

Rumfield is a 25-year-old first baseman who spent 2025 in Triple-A Scranton and hit .285/.378/.447 with 16 homers and strong plate discipline. He was blocked in the Yankees’ depth chart, and Colorado gets a bat they can evaluate quickly.

It’s a fair exchange: the Rockies get a near-ready position player; the Yankees get a high-octane reliever profile to tinker with.

The NYYNEWS read

This isn’t a “headline move.” It’s a process move.

The Yankees are telling you they believe their pitching infrastructure can squeeze value out of power arms that other organizations can’t fully harness. Sometimes that’s real. Sometimes it’s wishful thinking. But the logic is consistent: acquire velocity, chase the whiff, trust the lab.

If Chivilli throws strikes and keeps the ball in the yard, you might look up in June and realize the Yankees quietly stole a usable bullpen weapon.

If not? They paid with a blocked first baseman and move on.

Low risk. Real upside. Very Yankees.