YANKS SAY IT’S
Torres gets call to Bronx; will debut vs. Jays
IT’S GLEYBER time.
The Yankees are promoting top prospect Gleyber Torres to the major leagues, a source confirmed to the Daily News.
The infielder will join the Yankees on Sunday for their series finale against the Blue Jays at the Stadium. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m.
Torres was pulled from the Triple-A Scranton/WilkesBarre RailRider’s game after the sixth inning Saturday. According to tweets from the Times Leader, Torres learned of the news moments later and was surrounded and congratulated by teammates in the dugout.
The timing of the promotion makes sense. Utility man Tyler Wade is off to a dreadful start in 2018, hitting .086 in 38 plate appearances through Saturday, and infielder Brandon Drury remains on the disabled list because of severe migraines and blurry vision. So there is a period now, before Drury returns to the majors, where Aaron Boone can find consistent playing time and at-bats for Torres, who started off incredibly hot this season in Triple-A.
Drury is progressing after doctors determined that an irritated tendon in his neck is causing his vision issues. But he still is not ready to return to games, and he must decide if he needs minor-league rehab games before rejoining the Yankees.
Ronald Torreyes, meanwhile, is hitting .417 this season and started the past three games — Thursday at third base; Friday and Saturday at second base. However, it’s hard to imagine Torreyes being an everyday player for the Yankees when they have so much young infield talent.
The question now is, where will Torres play? The assumption is he will start at second base, with fellow prospect Miguel Andujar hitting consistently while playing third base over the last week. Andujar started at third Saturday and delivered a three-RBI double in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 9-1 win over the Blue Jays. The 23-year-old is now hitting .450 with eight extra base hits and six RBI in his last five games, and despite Andujar’s inconsistent defense, Boone can’t afford to take his bat out of the lineup right now.
After his standout performance Saturday, Andujar stayed diplomatic about what was then just a potential Torres call-up.
“If he comes over to play with us, we’re going to receive him with open arms,” Andujar said at his locker through a translator. “He’s a good friend, he’s a good ballplayer that has a lot of talent.”
Torres was pulled from a Triple-A game earlier this week because of back tightness. But he returned to the lineup two days later and reported feeling “100 percent” to the Times Leader on Friday. Of course, the promotion confirms his health.
Torres went 0-for-3 in Saturday’s game before heading to the bench. He’s still hitting .347 with 11 RBI and five extra-base hits in 14 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. Torres started eight games at third, three games at shortstop and three games at second this year.
Two of those starts at second have come in the past two days, though. — with Mike Mazzeo