While the New York Yankees work through several injuries, it’s essential they find a versatile player that can adapt and be utilized in a variety of ways. Starting second-baseman Gleyber Torres fits the bill.
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The second-year pro might be put in a position to play a nice chunk of the 2019 season at shortstop while Didi Gregorius heals from Tommy John surgery. Torres performed well last season,hitting .271 with 24 home runs over 431 at-bats.
The 22-year-old has shown he can be a consistent player in an intimidating Yankees batting order, but his defensive skills have been questioned.It was thought the Yankees might be grooming him to be the shortstop of the future, as that was his position in the minor leagues. He was later moved to second-base and made 12 errors. While at shortstop, he committed 5 errors over 21 games,which prompted the move to second.
Looking at the numbers — 2.9 WAR in 2018 — it’s obvious that Torres had issues with fielding, similar to Miguel Andujar, who at third-base clocked 15 errors. At the ripe young age of 22, Gleyber has plenty of time to improve upon his weaknesses. Instilling faith in the youth player might be something the Yankees would consider,such as putting him back at shortstop until Didi returns.
Alternative options:
The only other legitimate options the Yankees have at shortstop are 24-year-old Tyler Wade and superstar free agent Manny Machado. It seems as if they are leaning towards signing Machado to take over the shortstop position, especially if Didi leaves for free-agency in 2019.