Gary: Gleyber a major talent

PORT CHARLOTTE — Gary Sanchez thinks pretty highly of Gleyber Torres. The Yankees think pretty highly of both of their potential stars in the making. Sanchez swatted his fifth homer of the spring while Torres added a homer, double and three RBI in the Yankees’ 10-6 exhibition loss to the Rays on Tuesday.

“There have been a lot of expectations from (Gleyber) and he’s been able to show his skills,” Sanchez said through a translator. “I think he’s a five-tool player, a complete player with a lot of talent. He’s been impressive.”

Torres, 20, is hitting .455 (10-for-22) with four doubles, a triple and two homers. Starlin Castro and Chase Headley had better produce because Torres, who is expected to start in Double-A Trenton, has rapidly emerged.

Asked if he’s thought about Torres being a major-leaguer, Sanchez replied: “It’s hard to say. If you’re hitting and playing good baseball, you have a really good chance to make it to the big leagues. He’s done a great job for us. I don’t know. It’s hard to say. If he doesn’t start with team now, I guess he’s close.”

Said Torres through a translator: “I feel proud that someone like Gary would say something like that about me. I take it as an inspiration to keep working hard and doing things correctly.”

JOE’S WORLd

Joe Girardi provided a potentially better alternative for the World Baseball Classic schedule. “What I always hoped was this week would be the first round, the next round would be next week,” Girardi said. "You can start the season three days later. Or you can go to one city that has two ballparks: play Tuesday of the All-Star break, finals Wednesday, workout is Thursday, game is Friday and you have Saturday and Sunday off and start the season again on Monday.”

Girardi felt this would be better because pitchers are still being built up during spring training, and have a better chance of being hurt early in the season than later. “I’ve (proposed) it 10 times, but you see how it’s going,” Girardi said. "Obviously there’s value to the WBC, I mean they’re sold out, there’s excitement. There would be a lot of value to it in the summer.” ... Mason Williams (patellar tendon inflammation) made his spring debut, starting in center field and going 0-for-2. Greg Bird had a double and a triple and is batting .429 during the spring. Clint Frazier went 1-for-3 with two runs.