TAMPA, Fla. — All winter, Gleyber Torres has heard the rumors.
The Yankees are going to go get Carlos Correa to play shortstop. The Bombers can trade for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The Yankees already have the shortstop of the future in their system in Oswald Peraza of Anthony Volpe. Torres, who lost the Yankees’ shortstop job over the last two seasons, has just one thought about those rumors.
“Whatever guy comes into the team, an awesome minor league guy or a guy from another organization or from free agency, I hope that guy can come to the team and help us to win the World Series,” Torres said last week after working out at a local high school. “That is the only thing that matters to me. I just want to win. Whatever people come into the team, I want them to do well and help us win a World Series.”
Torres, who was demoted from shortstop in September of last season, accepted that his future is not at the position he grew up playing. Whenever MLB and the Players Association is able to reach a deal on a collective bargaining agreement and end the lockout, Torres wants to show that he can be the Bombers’ second baseman of the future. He’d like that chance, though there are rumors he may be on the trading block himself and will have to prove himself somewhere else.
Torres has come to terms with the move and understands the criticism of the fans and even his general manager, Brian Cashman. He agrees. Torres knows he is better at second base.
“So I’m just trying to figure out a way to be the same Gleyber I was in (2018 and ‘19) and prepare really well for this season,” Torres said. “I’m back to second and I am happy to be there and I feel like I can help my team at second base. So I just prepare myself, get stronger and try to get really good for my team.”
Torres has had a rough two years. In 2020, after MLB shut down spring training for four months because of the coronavirus, the Yankees felt he showed up to the restart of the season out of shape. He suffered a leg injury and struggled. In 2021, he had an early bout with COVID-19 and a thumb injury that hindered him. Torres ended the season on a little surge after hitting .251 with a .671 OPS in 107 games at shortstop. He hit .300 with an .815 OPS in his last 19 games, all at second base.
“The bottom line is shortstop is an area of need and we have to address it,” Cashman said after the season. “Gleyber is best served at second base, in reality.”
The question that hangs over the Yankees when the lockout ends and Cashman is able to build the 2022 team is if Torres still serves the Yankees best. DJ LeMahieu is more valuable at second base than first or third and he’s signed for the next five years, which is why there have been rumors that Torres could end up in a trade for a shortstop or starting pitching depth.
All of that is out of Torres’ control. So, he decided he would make sure he put himself in the best position he could to start over this season at second base.
He spent pretty much all offseason reshaping his body and his swing. He came straight to Tampa after the Yankees’ lost in the American League Wild Card Game in October and began working out at the Bombers’ player development complex. He got an early start with the Yankees’ rookie hitting coach Dillon Lawson and shared workouts with Aaron Judge.
He was one of the players who felt the effects of the owners locking out the players immediately.
“I worked every day at the complex until Dec. 1. That was my last day, because then the owners locked us out,” said a noticeably thinner Torres. “So, I had to do the work on my own.
“I took maybe two weeks off,” Torres added. “I had a lot of work I wanted to do. I stayed here to do it.”
The last few weeks, as spring training is on hold with the owners and players’ union battle over a labor agreement, Torres has consistently been working out at a local high school with teammates like Gio Urshela, Luke Voit and Luis Severino. Former Yankee Didi Gregorius has been part of the group, as has Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers. Torres takes hundreds of balls at second base, working on his footwork. He works on his swing in the batting cage next to the field and against live pitchers.
Torres said he’s been eager to get the call that a deal is reached and the season is on. He knows he has a lot to prove and he feels like he is in a position to do it.
“I am ready,” Torres said. “I am just waiting on the call and I will be ready to go.”
