The New York Yankees have covered all the bases at the trade deadline, acquiring outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals, Scott Effross from the Chicago Cubs, and Frankie Montas from the Oakland Athletics. Those are the three primary players added to the roster, all the while adding another bullpen arm in Lou Trivino, who will help down the stretch.
With just a few hours left until the deadline expires, the Yankees are still fielding calls on some of their more prominent players, notably Gleyber Torres, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network.
Jack Curry says that the Yankees have fielded calls about Gleyber Torres ? pic.twitter.com/4byHjcWZoj
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) August 2, 2022
The Yankees are seeing the best of Gleyber Torres this season:
Torres is having a fantastic season after a down 2021 campaign. He’s hitting .257 with a 31% on-base rate and a .467 slugging percentage. He’s smashed 16 homers this year with 46 RBIs, including nine homers to right field, showcasing his opposite field power.
Torres hosts a 19.7% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate, and 120 wRC+, indicating he’s 20% better than the average MLB player.
Offensively, he’s performing well against fastballs and breaking balls, hitting .253 and .291, respectively. He’s earned a 43.8% hard-hit rate and 10.2% barrel rate, both career highs. His 19.7° launch angle has significantly contributed to his improved home run totals. A 49.4% flyball percentage and 12.3% HR/FB ratio stand out as quality stats.
Torres has also seen a significant increase in defensive efficiency, taking over second base once again full-time. He currently hosts a .977 fielding percentage, the best in his career over a sample size of 170+ innings. He’s only committed seven errors during that span, turning 31 double plays.
The question is, who exactly would the Yankees be considering at the deadline in exchange for Torres? It seems as if other teams are poking around rather than the Yankees shopping him out. Nonetheless, that would be a big surprise if they traded away Torres and moved DJ LeMahieu to 2B full-time instead of his usual utility role.