MR. BIG STUFF
The scouts were always watching. The experts always took notice. Different eyes shared the same perspective.
Ronald Torreyes’ work ethic was sublime. His bat rarely missed the ball. He provided a reliable glove anywhere on the field.
But everywhere he stood, he still stood 5-foot-8 or so, and so skinny that a strong wind might send him to the disabled list.
“People said because of my size that I would not be able to sign a professional contract with a team,” Torreyes said last week. “I heard it a lot.”
Assumptions outweighed everything.
As a teenager in Venezuela, Torreyes passed through more baseball academies than he can remember — including the Mets, Cubs, Astros, Phillies, Padres, Cardinals and Pirates — and faced rejection from teams without MLB affiliation.
Even after Torreyes was finally signed by the Reds as an international free agent in 2010, he was traded five times by the age of 23, having played just eight games in the majors.
“The f irst time that I was traded was the toughest one, and it hurt a lot because I was not expecting to get traded,” Torreyes said. “You go through that experience, and you learn from it, and you understand that sometimes in baseball you’re here one day, and tomorrow you’re not.”
For more than 500 days, Torreyes has been with the Yankees, finally earning the opportunity to prove his ceiling isn’t inches above his head.
After a respectable debut as the team’s utility man last season — hitting .258 in 72 games — Torreyes has played a far bigger role this year to make up for the Yankees’ many injuries. Starting off filling in for Didi Gregorius at shortstop for the first month of the season, Torreyes — one of the five shortest players in the majors — has ably filled in all around the diamond, committing just one error in 57 games, while batting .278, with 20 RBIs.
This season, he’s spent 23 games at shortstop, 20 games at third base, 15 games at second, and made one appearance in right field.
Most importantly, he’ s remained with one team.
“I’m very happy and excited because I’ve gotten the opportunity to play, and I’ve been able to help in whichever way possible,” Torreyes said. “I’m very happy that I’m here. It feels like a family to me here.”
At first, the Yankees didn’t appreciate him, either.
After acquiring Torreyes from the Dodgers in January 2016 — the third time he was traded in less than eight months — the Yankees designated him for assignment three days later, and he was claimed off waivers by the Angels. He remained with the Angels for two days, and was then picked up by the Yankees again.
“Before last year, I wasn’t quite sure what we had,” Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson said. “You see this little guy running around, you think, ‘Eh, he’s a nice little piece,’ and then once you see him more you appreciate him for what he brings to the table, and the type of teammate he is. His role is a difficult one, especially for a young guy, but he does it so well. The thing that he’s so good at is he prepares himself at any position he could possibly play. He’s always ready.
“We’re always joking that if he doesn’t play for four or five days, his first atbat, I’ll say to Joe [Girardi], or Jo e wil l s ay to me, ‘Where ’s this line drive gonna be?’ Because that’s the way he is. He’s always prepared.”
Torreyes began playing baseball when he was 4, and practiced with his father, Alcides, virtually every day growing up. To prepare his son to succeed against bigger, stronger players, Torreyes’ father signed him up to play in a league with adults as old as 25 while Torreyes was just 14.
“He did it so I would not be afraid, and that helped me a lot,” Torreyes said. “I think that was one
of the biggest things in my development.”
Gregorius first met Torreyes when both played in Cincinnati’s farm system, where teammates called the Torreyes “The Rock,” because of how hard his forearms were from working out so often. Gregorius quickly learned about Torreyes’ on-field versatility, but noted how equally impactful the Venezuelan has always been when his name is left out of the lineup.
“He always has energy,” Gregorius said. “No matter what, even on a plane after a long game, he always has energy and jokes around.”
Even in the midst of the Yankees’ slide to end the first half of the season, “Toe” kept the mood lighter than it might have been.
“He’s always cheering up everybody,” Luis Severino said. “I’ve never seen him sad. Even when he’s not playing, he’ll always be out there early, and stretching, and has a lot of energy. It’s something special. I have no idea how he’s always happy.”
Few things make the team as giddy as when Gregorius lifts up Torreyes to high-five the 6-foot-8 Aaron Judge, following one of the rookie’s massive home runs.
“It just happened naturally,” Gregorius said. “And I just kept picking him up.”
Few moments have made the team as excited as when Torreyes ripped an extra-inning, walk-off single to beat the Rangers on June 23.
After making contact, Torreyes immediately raised both of his arms, and was lifted by Aaron Hicks, and hugged by the rest of the roster while Gregorius ran to retrieve the souvenir for the beloved role player.
Following the win, Judge surprisingly said, “There’s nobody else I want up in that situation.”
There are few players the Yankees are more comfortable to place in any situation.
“Every single team needs guys like him,” Chase Headley said. “Pound for pound, he’s right up there with anybody in the game.
“He’s as well-liked as anyone I can remember. He’s very unselfish. He’s always pulling for other guys. He never complains. He says nothing negative, and when he gets his chance, he goes in there and does such a good job. He’s easy to pull for because he’s so wellliked, and the fact that he’s just a little guy, too, that just adds to the feel-good kind of story.
“He’s just himself. He’s comfortable with who he is, and it’s a good fit.”