Gleyber Torres faces uncertainty despite stellar offensive act for Yankees

In a period when the Yankees are embracing a younger generation of players, it’s worth noting that Gleyber Torres isn’t significantly older than the fresh batch of rookie players. Even though Gleyber Torres, who is 26 years old, has been the most reliable hitter for the Yankees this season, his future with the team is still quite uncertain and complex.

Gleyber Torres didn’t originate from the Yankees’ farm system. Instead, the team brought him on board from the Chicago Cubs during the trade deadline when he was just 19 years old and playing at the High-A level. Nevertheless, he nurtured his development within the Yankees’ organization, eventually evolving into one of the Baby Bombers and swiftly winning over the hearts of fans. He openly expressed his sentiment that the Yankees feel like his family.

“I feel really confident here, really comfortable,” he said. “I’ve known everybody since 2016. So, playing in this organization is an honor, first of all. It’s great when you play with those guys every day, you always want to win, and playing in New York is amazing. I know it can be tough, but I feel too like it’s part of the experience.”

Following his involvement in trade discussions last summer and the Yankees considering offers for him during the offseason, it’s noteworthy that Gleyber Torres, who has just one year remaining on his contract after this season, has managed to focus and have his most impressive season since 2019.

Gleyber Torres has a good 2023

In his penultimate year of salary arbitration for this season, Gleyber Torres earned a commendable $9.9 million. Looking ahead to 2024, he could potentially secure a contract exceeding the $12 million mark. This prospective salary increase doesn’t appear excessive, especially considering Gleyber Torres’ impressive performance as one of the premier offensive second basemen in the major leagues this season.

Among players at his position boasting at least 500 at-bats, he is ranked fifth with a .339 on-base percentage and third with a .462 slugging percentage. Moreover, Gleyber Torres has stood out as one of the Yankees’ most reliable hitters during a year where Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, and DJ LeMahieu have all fallen short of expectations.

Given these factors, it would be prudent for the Yankees to seriously consider retaining Gleyber Torres and postponing any decisions regarding his future until the upcoming year’s trade deadline or offseason. This approach should be a top priority on the Yankees’ list of potential courses of action.

In a season where the Yankees’ lineup has experienced ups and downs, Gleyber Torres has been the one who has stayed steady and even improved recently. In the last 31 games, starting on August 1st, he’s been hitting really well. He has a batting average of .331. His OPS is 1.020, and he has hit 25 home runs this season.

Manager Aaron Boone remarked that what caught his attention was Gleyber Torres’ significant success. He added that considering Gleyber Torres is a young player at this stage of his career, this season appeared to be his most consistent one, showing fewer ups and downs in performance from the beginning to the end. Boone also pointed out that Gleyber Torres has been the team’s most dependable hitter throughout the entire year, especially given the injuries that the team faced.

One important thing to note is that Gleyber Torres has reduced the number of times he strikes out, which means he’s doing better at not missing the ball. His strikeout rate is now at its lowest point in his career, at just 14.2 percent. Also, his walk rate is 9.1 percent, which is the third-highest it’s ever been in his career.

But his Yankees future is uncertain

However, there are still some criticisms or negative comments about Gleyber Torres that people have. As of Tuesday, he had a score of minus-two in Defensive Runs Saved while playing second base, according to Fielding Bible. This means that sometimes he makes great plays, but there are also times when he makes mistakes in his defense, even if they don’t always show up as errors.

Gleyber Torres is often very aggressive when running bases, but this can sometimes lead to mistakes. According to FanGraphs’ baserunning metric (BsR), he had his worst score ever, which was minus four as of Wednesday. This ranked him 12th lowest out of 138 players who qualified for the major leagues this season.

Considering all of these factors, Gleyber Torres has a 2.7 Wins Above Replacement score, which is the 10th best among all second basemen according to FanGraphs.

The Yankees have to decide if they want to give Gleyber Torres a big, long-term contract or if they should consider trading him this offseason. Another thing that makes this decision tricky is understanding what they have in Oswald Peraza. He’s 23 years old and has been up and down in terms of his performance at the plate during his recent time on the team. He’s mostly been playing at third base because Anthony Volpe is doing really well at shortstop.

If the Yankees believe that Peraza will be ready to play every day starting next season, they need to figure out where he’ll play. If he becomes the third baseman, it means DJ LeMahieu might move to second base (where Torres currently plays) or first base (if Anthony Rizzo is healthy). LeMahieu could also have a role where he moves around and plays different infield positions. Or maybe Peraza’s future is at second base.

For now, Gleyber Torres keeps saying he wants to stay with the Yankees, but he understands he doesn’t have much say in that decision. What he can do something about is how well he plays, and for the most part, he’s been a reliable and consistent player, which the team really needs.

According to Gerrit Cole, Gleyber Torres consistently performs well as an offensive second baseman and has been putting up excellent numbers for the team. Cole stated how enjoyable it has been to witness his progress over the past few years and how he’s returned to the level of production he expects from himself.

On a personal note, Cole said he wants to see Gleyber Torres continue to improve and take another step forward in his career, emphasizing the untapped potential he possesses. He described Gleyber Torres as a special player with great hand-eye coordination and a fun personality to be around.

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