Gleyber Torres and the New York Yankees have had a weird relationship in recent years, as while the young infielder has improved over each of the last two seasons, it’s been met with more and more trade talks. At the 2022 trade deadline, there were reports about a potential deal with the Miami Marlins that involved Torres, a deal that had fallen through at the last second. To make matters worse, it was also revealed that the reason the trade fell through was because the Marlins pulled their offer, not the Yankees, showing that the team had every intent to trade him at that year’s deadline.
Since then the trade conversations have died down, but Gleyber Torres has made it clear that he wants to stay with the team forever.
“I don’t want to leave here. I want to be a Yankee for life.”
– Gleyber Torres (via Erik Boland, Newsday Sports)
It’s unlikely that the two sides reach an agreement on an extension, but one thing is for certain, and it’s that Gleyber Torres wants to remain in pinstripes for the rest of his career.
Gleyber Torres Doesn’t Mince Words About Desire to Remain on the Yankees
This isn’t a bitter message on the end of Gleyber Torres; he is well aware of the business side of things and the financial jam the Yankees are currently in. Over the $300 million threshold, the Yankees are charged a 110% tax on their expenses, a big reason why they haven’t engaged Blake Snell as much as some reports have indicated. It’s hard to argue that Torres hasn’t been integral to the Yankees’ lineup in recent years however, as the 27-year-old infielder is coming off of a brilliant season at the plate.
His 25 home runs and 123 wRC+ were his best marks since 2019, and the biggest improvement he made came from a decrease in strikeout rate. An 8% decrease in strikeout rate is remarkable, and he was both their best contact hitter and their most consistent one due to the injury that Aaron Judge suffered after crashing into the right field wall at Dodger Stadium. It’s hard to argue that there’s anybody on the team outside of the aforementioned Judge and the newly acquired Juan Soto who is better than Gleyber Torres at the plate right now.
With that said, the Yankees have yet to reach out to Gleyber Torres on a potential extension, which Brian Cashman himself confirmed last week.
“He’s our second baseman for this year, haven’t had any conversations about anything past that”
Brian Cashman
READ MORE: Yankees have not held extension talks with 2x All-Star infielder
Gleyber Torres is an impending free agent after the 2024 season, and will likely fetch some serious offers from teams across the league looking for an offensive punch in their infield. The Yankees have a bevy of infield prospects whom they’ll evaluate this season, and if any of them stand out and grab a starting job during the year, it could make them less inclined to entertain a serious financial investment at second base.
The impending free agency of Juan Soto complicates everything, as the team knows that losing him would be disastrous, and they’ll have to wait-and-see how the season plays out before they re-visit the Gleyber Torres conversation.