Yankees’ shortstop Gleyber Torres has one goal: play 162 games

Much has been said about Gleyber Torres reporting out of shape to last year’s summer camp, including the New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman. However, the shortstop wants to leave it all in the past and this time around, he made it a priority to report to spring training in tip-top shape.

The Yankees’ emerging slugger committed to building his physique during the offseason and worked alongside Seattle Mariners’ uber-prospect Julio Rodriguez and Kansas City Royals hitter Carlos Santana. Gleyber’s primary goal during the 2021 campaign is to play the whole 162 games.

“It’s really important to me to be in really good shape,” Torres said on Friday to MLB.com. “This year, we play 162 games. Personally, I just want to play all the games and be healthy all year. That is how I’ll help my team in any opportunity I have. So far, I feel really good.”

The Yankees’ shortstop is in a good place now

The Yankees are happy with Torres’ current progress, both with his physique and at the plate, where he is 6-for-15 with one double and two round-trippers in the early going. Last year, he struggled mightly as a batter, but he is hungry and wants to rebound.

 “Last year was a tough year for everybody,” Torres said. “We didn’t start for three or four months. It was very hard for players, especially for me. Now, we know we’re playing a full season, we had a regular offseason, a regular Spring Training. We’ve played really well, and mentally, I feel really well.”

After returning from quad and hamstring injuries last season, he slowly began to rediscover his form, and he was a beast for the Yankees in the postseason, going 10-for-23 with two homers and five RBI.

“He looks good. He looks focused,” said second baseman DJ LeMahieu. “He’s been locking in on the early work defense. The swing looks good. He just seems very focused this year. That’s kind of what I expected from him. I definitely think Gleyber looks ready to go and ready to get after it again.”