START OF SOMETHIN’ BIG
Ready or not, the Gleyber era has begun
JUST as Tim Naehring was headed to see Gleyber Torres — a prized Cubs prospect the Yankees were thinking of acquiring as the centerpiece of a blockbuster deal for Aroldis Chapman at the 2016 trade deadline — the Bombers’ now VP of baseball operations received a call from GM Brian Cashman.
“Don’t get on the flight,” Cashman told Naehring, who had been scouting the Nationals, another team interested in Chapman.
There was no need. The deal between the Yanks and Cubs, Cashman told Naehring, had already been agreed upon.
Naehring had yet to see Torres in person at that point, but he quickly saw what the team’s other talent evaluators did in the young infielder simply by watching video. And those feelings were further solidified when Naehring saw Torres in the minors and the Arizona Fall League following the trade.
“It was easy to see he had a very fundamentally sound swing and was very advanced for his age. I sometimes have to stop and remind myself that the kid is only 21,” Naehring said.
Torres, who hit .347 in 49 at-bats with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, made his MLB debut on Sunday, playing second base and going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Monday night, in a 14-1 demolition of the Twins, he picked up his first major-league hit with a single in the 8th.
This wasn’t exactly how the Yanks drew it up — with rookie Torres starting at second and fellow rookie Miguel Andujar starting at third on April 22, in Game No. 20.
The team’s apprehension about starting a Boone-or-bust 2018 campaign with such a combination prompted the trade for Brandon Drury and the signing of Neil Walker to platoon with youngster Tyler Wade.
Plus, Torres was indeed rusty in the spring — a product of his absence from game action due to Tommy John surgery on his nonthrowing elbow that cut his 2017 season short in mid-June. And Andujar needed to finish off his defensive development in the minors following a hot start at the plate.
But Drury (migraines, blurry vision) was injured, while Walker (.183) and Wade (.086) both struggled at the plate, accelerating the process and necessitating a change.
Torres, a natural shortstop, had actually been playing mostly third in the minors before his promotion, making eight straight starts at the hot corner from April 9-18. And as of April 11, Andujar was hitting .107 in the big leagues. So Torres could’ve potentially been brought up to play third had those struggles continued.
But Andujar has since found his stride, posting 15 hits in his last seven games while showing off his power potential. He’s also played adequate defense as well.
“He’s the real deal,” one scout said of Andujar, projected as a middle-of-the-order bat — at least on teams that don’t have Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez. “He’s not a great defensive guy, but he’s going to be fine.”
The scout likes Torres at second with a plus-arm that can be a weapon when turning doubleplays. The Bombers will also get an extra year of team control on Torres due to service time rules — seven years as opposed to six.
“He can hit, but he doesn’t have the same kind of power as Andujar,” the scout said of Torres, who could profile as a No. 2 hitter even though Judge has been a star fixture there. “He’s more of a line-drive, gap-to-gap, doubles guy. I could see him hitting 12-15 homers, whereas Andujar has the potential to hit 25-30 or more.”
The scout felt Wade, who was sent down, looked overmatched at the plate. That could make him a utility infielder — with solid defense, instincts and speed — at most if he can’t adjust.
As for Torres, Naehring was complimentary of the youngster’s ability to study opposing pitchers and make adjustments pitch to pitch. he Yanks are certainly adding some talent and depth to the lower part of their lineup. Now Torres must get used to big-league pitching.
“It’s going to be a big learning curve,” Naehring said. “But he’s really got the ability to use the whole field and control his lower half. We’re excited about how his swing translates in our ballpark.”
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