Cashman glad Torres is in pinstripes

NEW YORK — Gleyber Torres, all the rage in his first two weeks with the Yankees, was on general manager Brian Cashman’s radar at 17. But the Venezuelan-born player signed with the Cubs as an international free agent.

Four years — and an astute Cashman deal later — Torres has hit the Bronx as the hottest new Yankee since Miguel Andujar. On Sunday, Torres slammed a gamewinning three-run homer in the ninth to complete a three-game sweep of the Indians. He is hitting .327 (17-for-52) with two homers and 11 RBIs.

“He was one of the guys we never lost track of,” Cashman said. “We felt he was the number one international player (in 2013), but he picked the Cubs essentially as the team that he wanted to sign with. We just kind of followed his career since. Any chance, which usually wouldn’t happen, that you have to get a second bite at the apple, we certainly took that opportunity when it presented itself.”

That came in late July 2016 when the Yankees suffered the indignity of being sellers as they moved out of contention for postseason play.

Cubs GM Theo Epstein, Cashman said, “was unwilling to engage us, for the most part, on anyone of significance from their major-league side so we went down deep for a high-ceiling prospect (Torres) that was further away as part of a package.”

Torres, then 19 and playing Class A ball, would become the centerpiece of the five-player deal for closer Aroldis Chapman.

Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner signed off on the deal and there was no expectation that Chapman would return, which he did as a free agent after helping the Cubs win the World Series.