At this point, it’s more than obvious that the New York Yankees intend to make Gleyber Torres the everyday shortstop for the Yankees moving forward. But, he has two massive problems moving forward, especially if we are to believe what the Yankees fans are saying on social media.
Defensive liability
Okay. So Gleyber Torres hasn’t been in the league for all that long. A two-year veteran is still pretty young. But, the problem is obvious at this point. Gleyber Torres is a better defensive second baseman than shortstop. Gleyber Torres is a league-average second baseman and a below-average shortstop. Like, when we look at his statistics and compare them to Miguel Andujar, Andujar is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman by comparison.
But, based on what Torres is capable of doing at defense at second base, Yankees fans are more comfortable at seeing Torres at short than they are seeing Andujar at third. Tell me how this makes sense?
High strikeout rate
Gleyber is turning into an offensive marvel. A .275 career hitter, he went from 24 home runs in 2018 to 38 in 2019. But, he’s averaging 152 strikeouts PER SEASON! Yankees fans kill Stanton for how much he strikes out, just like they kill Sanchez. But if Gleyber is striking out over 150 times a season… it’s only 23 strikeouts BEHIND Sanchez per season.
So What Should the Yankees do?
Well, the obvious choice is that the New York Yankees will make him the opening day shortstop. But… with DJ as old as he is (he’s above the 30 years old line, which is a death sentence for most players), Gleyber will be moved back to second before 2025. So… while the Yankees may be shooting themselves in the foot for now… if the shortstops the Yankees have in the farms will be ready by 2022… it’s all for the best.