While the New York Yankees – and the rest of baseball – are focused on landing free-agent slugger Juan Soto, former slugger Gleyber Torres is likely heading elsewhere.
Two analysts suggest the one-time top prospect could stay within the American League East.
The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier suggested Torres as a potential right-handed power bat that could fit with the Boston Red Sox. In a Baseball America chat with readers, Speiers suggests Torres along with Willy Adames.
“Adames would give them a *lot* of options moving forward and would provide them with coverage at SS in case of another Story injury. Obviously, (Tyler) O'Neill was a good fit for Fenway. It's hard to see them getting in the mix for (Pete) Alonso. Gleyber Torres could be an option given the performance track against lefties and ability to play 2B,” Speier wrote.
Meanwhile, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report has Torres heading north of the border to play for the Blue Jays.
Once a highly regarded prospect for the Chicago Cubs, Torres was traded to the Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman during the Cubs' 2016 drive to win a World Series title. He debuted with the Yankees in 2018 and had a strong start to his career as a finalist for Rookie of the Year and an All-Star nod in his first two seasons.
While he hit 38 and 24 homers in his first two seasons in the big leagues, respectively, he has only done that twice in the five years since. His offense, however, declined as the Yankees tried to move him over to shortstop in 2020 and ‘21. His defensive and baserunning mistakes were a constant complaint of fans.
Though he never developed into the superstar shortstop the Yankees thought they had dealt for, he does have an upside. Torres is a career .265/.334/.441 hitter with a .774 OPS and he is just 27-years-old.
More MLB: Yankee prospect early Rookie of the Year candidate
