The Yankees Need to Put their Money where their Dreams Are
Many observers doubt that the Yankees will allow Torres to start the season in pinstripes, whether he is ready or not. And that’s because the Yankees can do themselves a world of financial good by merely waiting to bring Torres to the Bronx, as Mike Axisa and River Avenue Blues recently reminded us:
"The Yankees usually don’t obsess over service time. If they feel a player gives them the best chance to win, they tend to carry that player on the MLB roster. In Gleyber’s case, pushing back his free agency — two weeks in the minors in 2018 equals control of his age 27 season in 2024 — would be a byproduct of shaking off the post-Tommy John surgery rust. It could be enough of an incentive that the Yankees send Torres down on Opening Day juuust to make sure he’s all the way back, you know?"
So, in exchange for just two weeks in the minors for Gleyber, the Yankees will save millions of dollars in six years. That sounds like a wise and long-term investment in the club.
Win Now and Then
But it is not doing everything they can to win now. Every game has to matter from late March to early October, and beyond. And that means the team is better off with Torres on it from jump street if Gleyber shows his talent during Spring Training — which brings us to March 29th: Opening Day. If Gleyber is manning second for the Bombers, we will know that they are all in.
And that is precisely what is going to happen.
Because Hal and Cash know that the Yankees are only the Yankees if they win…a lot. And it has been far too long in Yankees’ land since the last hurrah; time for another championship run. But, again, that takes total commitment.
And we are all going to find out soon how the Yankees fare in their first test, the test of Gleyber Torres. Pass it—show the team, the fans, and the baseball world that the Yankees play for titles and not contracts—and they might be ready for whatever challenges come next.
Next: The Yankees Chance Adams and the Spectre of Luis Severino
Fail it by trying to plan for future teams and saving a few dollars–and lose the division by a game–and the Yankees stop being the Yankees. But if Torres is worthy and wearing pinstripes by Opening Day, well, we can all just go back to that earlier part of the piece about spreading fear and intimidation.
Except then it will be the Yankees’ opponents, and not fans, who will be afraid that Gleyber Torres is playing second.
And then it will be they who will be tested.