Torres knows he has to do better
TAMPA, Fla. — Gleyber Torres seemed to get the messages this winter.
The first came from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who bluntly said the young shortstop came into the second training camp after the coronavirus shutdown “out of shape.” The second
came right before spring training, when Fernando Tatis Jr. got a 14-year, $340 million extension from the Padres.
“We know that Tatis is a great player [and] I feel super happy for him,” Torres said Friday after workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “He got that big contract.
“And when I saw the news, I mean for sure, who doesn’t want to get the money? I mean, that is not the wish for everybody?
“I’m just trying to continue to
play like I play, try to get better and nothing... we’ll see in the future if I get an opportunity to get a big contract.”
Now, it’s time for the 24-year-old to show he understood the messages.
Torres, like Tatis, is certainly one of the exciting young players in the game. The Padres shortstop is much better defensively and has a sweeter swing, but Torres has the talent and the opportunity this year to prove he is worth a lucrative deal that would buy out his arbitration and the first few years of his free agency.
Torres, who missed 13 games with a leg injury in 2020, knows that he has to prove he can be the Yankees’ shortstop of the future. If not, there is a talented class of shortstops, including Javier Baez, Carlos Correa and Franscico Lindor, expected to become available on the free-agent market this winter.
“Overall it was not a really good year to me for a lot of things,” Torres said. “This year I prepare myself like I did in the offseason — I take many ground balls and just try to be confident in myself. Toplay defense better at that position, I do a little adjustment, little things like help me to get in position. I am just focused ongetting better.
“I am focusing on the comments or [when] people talk about my defense and just try to get confidence in myself and try to help my team. I think that is most important for me. All my pitchers believe in me — whenI’m playing short, they don’t worry about if somebody hits to short.
“I just try to make the out and try to adjust every time. I’m just trying to work with (bench coach Carlos Mendoza) to repair myself,
clean [up] little things and try to take it into the season.”
Torres had nine errors at shortstop in the regular season, tied for the secondmost at that position in the majors, and two in the playoffs .
He posted a minus-9 defensive runs saved and a minus-4 outs above average. He was in the bottom 2% in outs above average, according to Baseball Savant.
But it wasn’t just his defense that was worrisome.
An All-Star his first two seasons in the big leagues, Torres had an all-around disappointing season this year. In 2020 he hit .243/.356/.368, career lows in batting average and slugging percentage. While his strikeout percentage was down for the third straight year, his production was down sharply from 2019. He hit three home runs in 136 at-bats and his OPS dropped to .724.
“I don’t know, I think ’19 was great,” Torres said of his power outage last year. “I didn’t get any injury. It was a long season. Sixty games last year, I get an injury.
“Really, I don’t feel too comfortable when I go to home plate during the shorter spring and the regular season. I’m trying to fix too many things. I don’t feel comfortable when I go to home plate.
“Last year I got better and better. I still feel the power, but I didn’t hit too many homers last year. I prepared myself during the offseason, tried get a little stronger, more agile, and we’ll see this year. Let’s see if I can hit the same home runs or more than [in 2019].”
Torres started to turn things around after returning from the injured list.
He hit .259/.377/.466 with two of his three homers in the final 18 regular-season games. He went 10-for-23 (.435) in the Yankees’ seven playoff games.