The New York Yankees did not bother to hide just how excited they were at the prospect of being able to finally move on from Gleyber Torres this offseason. Acquired to be the team's shortstop of the future in the summer of 2016, Torres burst onto the big-league scene but never quite took the leap fans expected. That lack of growth put his future up in the air ahead of his walk year, and after an embarrassing World Series loss that seemed to accentuate all of the things Torres didn't do well, nearly everybody in New York was ready to say goodbye.
That very much included GM Brian Cashman, who kicked off the winter by more or less writing an obituary for Torres' time in the Bronx.
"I'm not gonna dissect what he's good at and not as good at. Obviously he'll have a lot of conversations with a lot of teams that have a need in that area and that might include us, who knows. But appreciate his efforts while he was here"
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) November 5, 2024
- Brian Cashman on Gleyber Torres pic.twitter.com/BIstv72I1f
But there's a chance that Gleyber's obvious shortcomings — a relative lack of athleticism and a tendency to do some truly, cripplingly silly stuff in the field and on the bases — may have masked the fact that he was still, in spite of all of that, a pretty useful player. Credible second basemen with above-average bats don't exactly grow on trees, after all.
A team that's had to learn that lesson the hard way? The Yankees themselves. Flash forward a few months, and suddenly New York finds itself so desperate for competent infielders that the team has DJ LeMahieu penciled in as its every-day third baseman. If you erased the name and simply handed Torres' resume and 2025 projections to Yankees fans right now, they'd sign up for it in a heartbeat. Torres himself, however, is just glad he's gotten far, far away from that mess.
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Gleyber Torres takes the high road as Yankees remain mired in infield mediocrity
After signing a one-year deal with the team back in December, Torres reported to Detroit Tigers camp over the weekend, looking so ready to turn over a new leaf that he even grew a beard to celebrate the change of scenery. Naturally, he was asked about his time in New York, and liberties Cashman has taken in criticizing him on his way out the door.
“To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on there,” Torres told The Athletic. “I believed everything was good, but (now) I think no. So I don’t want to give any comments. … Whatever they have, they have. I’m just focusing on my goals this year, how to get better and help my team.”
That sure sounds like a player who's relieved to be where he's at rather than where he was. And really, can you blame him? Torres was hardly blameless for how things went down in New York; his flaws were real, and frustrating. But the Yankees casually brushed him aside, awfully confident they'd be better without him, only to fail miserably in upgrading his spot on the roster this winter. Torres, meanwhile, now joins an ascending Tigers team, one that promises him an everyday role on a competitive roster in a wide-open division far away from the New York limelight.
Plus, if he puts together a big year, he has the chance to cash in with a multi-year deal next winter. We know a team that could really use his services.