New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres has been surrounded by trade rumors the past few seasons, but is it the right move for the organization to make?
Since Gleyber Torres made his Yankees debut in 2018 as the top prospect in baseball, he has been the center of attention … both positively and negatively. After making All-Star appearances in his first two seasons, his performance went down drastically. After the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, respectively, he only hit 12 home runs, drove in 67 runs batted in while averaging a slash line of .251/.343/.367.
However, Torres has hit a new-found power surge dating back to the 2022 season after making new adjustments to his swing and returning to his old position, second base, as noted by Matt Martell of The New York Times.
"“That “big move” was Torres’s load, the movement he makes before swinging. He uses a high leg kick to build the momentum he transfers through the baseball at the point of contact, but it had gotten too big and uncontrolled as he tried to squeeze every ounce of force out of his slimmer build. This had thrown off his balance and damaged his timing, which affected his pitch recognition, swing decisions, bat path and hip rotation.”"
Once the adjustments were made, Torres was able to showcase his power that scouts were so fond of again. In a season that was overlooked by Aaron Judge’s historical MVP season, he ended his 2022 season with a .257/.310/.451 slash line, .761 OPS, 24 home runs and 76 runs batted in. He continued with the same adjustments to start the 2023 season and lead the team in batting average (.357), on-base plus slugging percentage (1.179), walks (11) and stolen bases (five) during the Yankees first 12 games.
New York Yankees rumors: What’s next for Gleyber Torres, Oswald Peraza?
While it must certainly feel good for Gleyber Torres to have his confidence back and the Yankees organization see him return to the player they know he can be, the front office has a decision to make on not only his future but yet another top three prospect ranked in the organization, Oswald Peraza.
Peraza, 22, was called up and made his MLB debut on September 2, 2022 to help a struggling Yankees team at a critical time in the playoff race. Despite starting out the 2023 season with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Peraza has already seen a recall of his services and the organization is still enamored with his defense and versatility to play other positions.
Without a doubt, there’s a case to be made for Torres and Peraza to stay in the organization. They are both young and with adjustments still being made offensively, neither one has peaked yet. Torres is now reaching his prime years at age 26 and is the reason why the Yankees should hold onto him and trade Peraza, who is four years younger than Torres, for a bigger trade return.
Despite being linked to trade rumors last offseason, Torres has recently been able to mirror what he accomplished in 2018 and 2019, furthermore, proving to the front office why he still belongs in New York. He no longer has to worry about weight management to develop a longer range at shortstop and can return to the power hitter the fan base grew to love in the beginning.