The New York Yankees offseason is moving at a snails pace at the moment. The reason being is the holdup in the DJ LeMahieu negotiations. There were several reports out stating the Yankees and LeMahieu are currently $25 million apart on a new deal.Â
However, from my understanding, that money is primarily coming from an extra year. The Yankees have been firm on offering four years while LeMahieu’s camp is looking for a fifth year. While the two sides remain apart, I believe they will get a deal done eventually.
For the sake of this article, let’s say that the Yankees get a deal done with DJ LeMahieu. Now, let’s dive into the title that might throw many Yankees fans through a loop. Why on Earth would the Yankees look at trading their young star, Gleyber Torres?
Let’s take a look at the Yankees infields situation. If they resign LeMahieu, he will likely be sticking to second base moving forward unless the Yankees think about transitioning him to first base or third base in the future.
With that, Gleyber Torres would need to stay at shortstop. The problem is that he is just simply not very good there. Even Brian Cashman said last week that Torres is much better at second base than shortstop.Â
A comment like that doesn’t seem to convey confidence that the Yankees see Torres as a long-term solution at shortstop. So if they sign LeMahieu to play second base for the next four-five years, what does that mean for Torres?
The Yankees Potential Plan
The reality is that the Yankees might look at moving Gleyber Torres after the 2021 season. I don’t believe that they will look at moving him this offseason because they will try to give him one more shot at shortstop next year.
If next year goes similarly to this year in terms of his performance at the position, the Yankees will look at moving him. The free agent shortstop class next year is stacked with some of the best shortstops in the business.
Guys like Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Corey Seager, and Trevor Story are all hitting the market next year. All of those guys are better options at that position than Gleyber Torres.
Torres is a young star in baseball which would make him very desirable. The Yankees desperately need starting pitching help. A situation we could very well see is the Yankees go after a free agent shortstop while shopping Torres for a starter.
While it would hurt to trade a young star like Torres, the Yankees could take care of two issues in doing so. They could land an actual all-star shortstop while improving the rotation. I love Gleyber Torres as a fan, but the reality is, the best move might be moving him after 2021.