Yankees haven't had contract extension talks with All-Star impending free agent

The New York Yankees had a lost season in 2023, but Gleyber Torres was a bright spot. The now 27-year-old had his best season since 2019, slashing .273/.347/.453 with 25 home runs and 68 RBI. Torres re-established himself as one of the best offensive second basemen in the league, ranking tied for fifth in home runs and sixth among qualifiers with a 123 WRC+.

Following his big year, Torres enters the 2024 season expected to be a big contributor in a much-improved Yankees lineup. All focus will be on guys like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, deservingly so, but how good New York actually is revolves a lot around the supporting cast with Gleyber leading the pack.

All eyes this season are on Juan Soto and whether he'll stay with the Yankees long-term or not. While that's obviously a very important player for the Yankees to keep around for the long haul, Torres finds himself in the exact same situation, entering free agency at the end of the season. It sounds like he's destined to land in the same spot as Soto but for different reasons.

Brian Cashman pours cold water on possible Gleyber Torres extension talks with Yankees

Cashman said that the Yankees have not had any extension talks whatsoever with Torres, noting that he's their second baseman "for this season." Cashman didn't say anything positive or negative about Torres' future with New York, but he made it abundantly clear that he's only under contract through this season, and it sure sounds like it'll stay that way whether Torres wants that to be the case or not.

Soto is a player that the Yankees would presumably love to extend, but he's made it abundantly clear that he plans on pursuing free agency. Cashman seems to be resigned to that fact. While we have no idea what Torres wants in terms of his future, the Yankees don't seem interested in negotiating with him.

The Yankees' hesitance when it comes to committing to Torres long-term makes sense. He's been very inconsistent during his six-year tenure with the Bronx Bombers, so they'd ideally like to see another All-Star-caliber season out of him before committing long-term.

While Torres is their best option at second base for right now, the Yankees do have young players like Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera who are MLB-ready and can play second base. They're nowhere near as polished offensively, but Peraza in particular is an excellent defender and would create quite the tandem in the middle infield with Anthony Volpe. The Yankees can also look at free agency where guys like Ha-Seong Kim and Brandon Drury are set to be available.

Torres has earned another year at the keystone for the Yankees, but if he has a down year, the Yankees have options both internally and externally to consider for their future.