New York Yankees Neil Walker signing signals the end for Torreyes, not Torres
By Cory Claus
The Yankees upgraded their depth chart by signing former Met Neil Walker this week. While the move provides the team with a better placeholder until Gleyber Torres is ready, it probably means the end for Ronald Torreyes.
The New York Yankees every move is scrutinized, and sometimes overblown.
But that is to be expected as everything this franchise does is significant. How do they follow-up a trip to game seven of the ALCS? By signing the National League’s reigning MVP and MLB’s home run king, Giancarlo Stanton. So, fair enough.
Their signing of UI Neil Walker is no exception. This will obviously affect the depth chart and deserves to be analyzed; Walker I, after all, a strong candidate to start the season at second.
And it means the Yankees see Gleyber Torres probably starting at Scranton. I think we all recognize that.
But some, such as the NY Post’s Ken Davidoff, have taken it to have far more significant ramifications. He sees in the signing of the career .272/.341/.437 hitter such an impactful move that it might now make the Yankees more willing to trade a top prospect, Gleyber Torres:
"So who’s to say? If the Yankees have a chance to get, say, young Tigers ace Michael Fulmer in July, they’d probably have to lead the package with Andujar or Torres to make it happen. Or perhaps they’d have to include one of the pair to get the Rangers to eat some of the money owed veteran Cole Hamels, especially now that they gave Walker $4 million with another $500,000 attainable in incentives."
The long shadow of Walker makes Torres look so small by comparison, Mr. Davidoff compares him to other, former prospects:
"Stuff happens, though. A year ago at this time, the Yankees had zero interest in trading outfielder Dustin Fowler or pitcher James Kaprielian. Then both suffered major injuries, and both got packaged alongside Jorge Mateo in the trade-deadline deal for Oakland’s Sonny Gray."
Signing Neil Walker has seismically shifted the Yankees outlook and landscape.