MLBTR released our annual projected salaries for arbitration-eligible players last week. Among the class, only Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a higher figure than Gleyber Torres. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects the Yankee second baseman for a salary in the $15.3MM range for his final year of club control.
Torres has earned that lofty estimate with consistent offense through his five-plus seasons in the majors. He’s a career .267/.334/.454 hitter in a little over 3000 trips to the plate and has been above-average in five of six campaigns. This past season was typical for the righty-swinging infielder. Torres connected on 25 homers with a .273/.347/.453 showing across 672 plate appearances. He walked at a strong 10% clip while punching out only 14.6% of the time, the lowest rate of his career.
The glove is less reliable. Torres was a well below-average defender at shortstop earlier in his career. He has received tolerable but fringy grades from Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average at second base. Torres isn’t in danger of moving off the keystone. The bat carries the profile, though.
Even with a projected salary north of $15MM, Torres isn’t a non-tender candidate. He’s an above-average regular who would immediately be the best player available in a barren free agent middle infield class were the Yankees to inexplicably cut him loose. It’s fairly common for teams to consider trade scenarios for good but not elite players headed into their final seasons of club control on lofty projected salaries. That’s a more realistic possibility.
Dealing veterans in the five-plus year service class isn’t solely a move made by non-contenders. The Blue Jays (Teoscar Hernández), Brewers (Hunter Renfroe) and Twins (Gio Urshela) all made such moves last offseason and still made a playoff run. Toronto dealt Hernández for affordable bullpen help in right-hander Erik Swanson and to clear room in the outfield for a more defense-oriented group with the subsequent acquisitions of Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier. Milwaukee and Minnesota made their moves mostly with payroll in mind, though the Brewers did bring in middle reliever Elvis Peguero as part of the Renfroe return.
Clearly, the Yankees aren’t operating with the same financial constraints as the Brewers or Twins. Yet both those teams were also freed up to part with a solid veteran regular because they felt a young, pre-arbitration player could step up in the near future. Milwaukee had outfield prospects Joey Wiemer and Sal Frelick on the doorstep of the big leagues. The Twins were set to turn third base to second-year player José Miranda, with former first overall pick Royce Lewis a midseason possibility for an infield role following his return from ACL surgery.
For the Yankees, the biggest question might be whether they believe 23-year-old Oswald Peraza is capable of assuming that mantle. Peraza, who debuted with a strong 18-game showing late in 2022, spent the bulk of last season in Triple-A. He had a solid .268/.357/.479 line in 300 plate appearances there. The Yankees recalled him once they fell out of contention in late August. Peraza got regular infield run for five weeks but didn’t make an impact. He hit just .198/.236/.306 in 33 games to close out the year.
It’d be easier for general manager Brian Cashman and his front office to pencil Peraza for an everyday role in 2024 had he taken advantage of that opportunity. There’s nevertheless still an argument that’s their best course of action. Peraza is out of options, so the Yankees can’t send him back to Triple-A. (He’d surely be claimed on waivers if they tried to take him off the 40-man roster.) He’ll have to be on the major league roster unless the Yankees surprisingly traded him. If they’re hopeful he’ll be able an above-average regular at some point, it makes sense to get him consistent playing time.
That could come at third base, where Peraza spent the majority of his time in September. The Yankees received a putrid .221/.294/.361 slash from that position this year. That includes below-average work from the since-released Josh Donaldson, impending free agent Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Peraza himself. DJ LeMahieu was the other player with extended action at the position. The 35-year-old had a league average season overall despite solid production in the second half.
If the Yankees still view LeMahieu as an everyday player or land a free agent at the hot corner like Jeimer Candelario, the keystone becomes the obvious position for Peraza. The organization stuck with Anthony Volpe at shortstop through a middling offensive season. He outperformed most expectations defensively and seems entrenched there. Anthony Rizzo is expected back at first base, where LeMahieu saw most of his reps in the season’s final month.
There’s enough infield talent the Yankees could turn to the trade market on Torres. New York has a number of issues on the roster. There are questions in both outfield spots opposite Aaron Judge. Injuries or down years for each of Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas (the latter two of whom are headed to free agency) exposed the rotation depth in 2023. Their catchers contributed almost nothing offensively.
New York will have to address some of those shortcomings via free agency. Shopping Torres is another potential avenue for upgrading a different area of the roster. As the Hernández, Renfroe and Urshela deals demonstrate, there’s not immense trade value with one relatively costly season of a solid regular. While Torres is probably the best player of that group, he’s likely to also be the most expensive.
There’s more trade appeal now than there would be midseason, however. If the Yankees trade Torres during the offseason, an acquiring club could make him a qualifying offer at the end of next season — thereby entitling them to draft compensation if he departs in free agency. That wouldn’t be possible if Torres were dealt at next summer’s deadline, since teams can only make a QO to a player who spent the entire season on their roster.
The demand for middle infield solutions might also never be higher. The free agent second base class is headlined by the likes of Whit Merrifield, Amed Rosario and Adam Frazier. For teams trying to upgrade at the keystone — the White Sox, Mariners and Tigers may all fit that description and have short-term payroll space — the trade market is the clearest path.
Whether any team would be willing to make a strong enough offer for the Yankees to part with their second-best hitter won’t be known until the offseason. New York’s offense was a disaster when Judge went on the injured list. Trading Torres would thin it further unless they directly swapped him for a similarly productive outfield bat. Cashman and his staff have kicked around trade scenarios regarding Torres in the past and have yet to get a deal they find compelling. If they feel Peraza warrants a similar extended look to the one they gave Volpe this year, they could explore the market again this offseason.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Torres should be traded. Yes, he’s a solid hitter, but he’s questionable defensively and prone to horrendous baserunning blunders. He’s not worth $15 million next year nor a large extension.
I’d go with LeMahieu at 3rd, Volpe at 2nd and Peraza at SS. Peraza has the better tools at SS. Of course, his offensive capabilities are still a question. He’s shows promise, but needs to be more consistent.
While Volpe is passable at SS, I just don’t understand where the Gold Glove talk comes from. He certainly doesn’t have a classic SS arm and I believe he could be a GG 2nd baseman.
I agree, trade Gleyber while he is at his highest value, and in his final year of arbitration. Get some prospects and play one of the many infielder players the Yankees have.
if he’s in his final year of arbitration, he’s not at his highest value.
This is his highest value, yeah not his highest value ever, but this is as high as it will get. It will only go down as he nears free agency barring a herculean first half.
Once the season starts, if he’s traded the acquiring team can’t make him a QO.
It was highest after 2019. But right now it’s higher than it has been since his poor 2020/2021 seasons. He’s built back value over the past 2 years.
Completely agree. Volpe can be either a serviceable SS or a star at 2B. He’s got good feet but his arm is gonna wear out b/c his mechanics are poor. He’s not a big dude either so he could fill out to be a Dustin Pedroia clone.
@BC1985
” I just don’t understand where the Gold Glove talk comes from”
I think it points to the inconsistencies in defensive stat grading. It’s curious to me how we can have details and stats on some of the most specific things imaginable, but fielding is still largely a matter of: “which stat do you like the best” or “which stat backs up your case the most?” MLBTR usually does a good job of pointing out variances in defensive grades on player profiles.
DRS places him tied for 2nd amongst shortstops. UZR, OOA, and traditional fielding % are all around league average. I’d say the full body of work points towards someone that is *good* at SS, but not great (defensively).
LeMahieu has had 1/4 of a good season in the last three years; I find it had to pencil him into anything regular at age 35+…. It’s kind of hilarious and telling that a segment of Yankees fandom wants to trade the cleanup hitter after a year in which two players (Judge and Torres) basically carried the team’s offense.
It may be “hilarious” to you who obviously have not watched Torres in action over the course of a season…..it might seem that he changed his offensive game plan over the course of the second half by not trying to pull everything and swing out of his shoes with gave him much more consistent results but still is a .270 hitter so lets not get too excited………the question is is he that guy or the latter…..and secondly from a defensive standpoint, he’s got a $10 cent head and makes a boneheaded play either with the glove or on the bases far too often……..some advice…watch a game and then comment…..
No, I’m realistic. Yankees fans like to complain about every damn thing (yet oddly enough not the terrible announcers that make games unlistenable.) Get picked off base once becomes “prone to baserunning mistakes”
Point me to a specific game in which Torres’ “boneheaded” defense actually, physically cost the Yankees a win. last season. I’ll hang up and listen. My point was that if you take the Yankees most reliable, ready-to-play everyday player and second-half cleanup hitter out of the lineup, you have, what exactly? It would definitely be the worst offense in the AL East, without question. There’s no pie in the sky, “let’s trade all of our hyped prospects for Juan Soto” solution.
I’m 68 & been a Yankees fan all my life, and Torres is EASILY the dumbest player I’ve ever seen in pinstripes. He’s been thrown out at 3rd & 2nd more in two season then most players are in a 15-year career.
As for his hitting, he goes into 6-8 week stretches every year where he thinks he’s Judge & swings from his butt in every AB, stranding runners all over the diamond.
So, he’s a Negative as a Fielder, a Negative as a Baserunner, a Negative in baseball IQ, and just an Adequate Hitter. This is not someone we should spend $15MM on.
Trade him for whatever they can get to help sweeten the package for (hopefully) Soto.
Of course, all of this could be a moot point if that idiot Cashman is still allowed to consistently make the worst major trades in MLB again this off season.
I agree with you. People want to push Torres aside, not realizing a 273 BA with 25 Home Runs is not something that can be easily replaced. The idea is to add on to our strengths, not replace everything we have. Despite our miserable showing this year we only need a few pieces to get where we need to be.
I agree 100%. I see no reason why Peraza shouldn’t be at least an average SS bat.
@JoeBrady-Peraza is not going to be a average shortstop, he’s going to be the opposite really. Peraza is already a above average shortstop, so good he could win a gold glove at the position eventually. If Gleyber is traded, the Yankees should then move Volpe to 2nd, and then put the better defender Peraza at shortstop where he belongs.
I don’t disagree but DJ is a gold glove 2nd baseman and Peraza could be a GG 3rd baseman. I like the way Peraza looks like he’s playing 3rd and half of SS.
Pretty astounding how bad the Yankees have become. I look at other teams now and I wonder how did the Yankees get here.
I think before the Yankees go making trades and signing free agents, they need to look at the other teams’ coaching staffs and do what they can at that level to right the ship.
I feel resigned to 2024 being an only marginal improvement over 2023 for the Yankees. All of these suggestions or points made in this article offer break even changes at best- nothing to truly improve their prospects.
The only thing I can think to have some hope about is with IKF, Severino and Montas hitting free agency and with Donaldson gone, the Yankees have a chance to reload with younger role players who won’t be as bad or as useless and hope against hope for a bounce back season from Rodon.
Right now I don’t think there are any obvious solutions and Gleyber Torres is the least of their worries, honestly. He was a perfectly cromulent player for them in 2023. He was the most consistent offensive presence in their line up- which is how sad a state the Yankees are in now- and keeping or losing him won’t make any difference with all the other holes that need to be plugged, positions that desperately need to be upgraded- and all of these supposed super stars in the minors who are not living up to the lofty expectations and hype surrounding them once they reach the majors- which, again, could be the fault of a poorly constructed coaching and training staff- meaning that needs to be addressed first and foremost.
The Yankees need a new culture guy. Someone like Brett Gardner. Those types are really hard to find and they’re often very unappreciated so its extra hard for them to survive in New York. Maybe Evan Longoria or Justin Turner could come on board for a year.
This team won’t get back on track until they find a culture guy who demands professionalism from his peers.
Exactly. Bring Gardner back as bench coach. They won’t have to pay him $12M per, either.
The Marlins have wanted him for a while now. With Alcantara out next year, would Torres, Schmidt and change bring back Arraez? I would certainly call Ng to see what it would take. We need a high contact lefty bat.
Lol as long as the “change “ is a top prospect or two it ain’t happening
Oh I agree. I didn’t mean throwing in a large pie. lol
Wow, the sun, moon, and the universe for Arraez a proven hitter, but with no power at all……….and more you say….LOL….no thanks the second coming of Ted Williams he ain’t.
A problem with that scenario is if the Yankees don’t want to pay Torres $15 mil, why would the Marlins want to?
Why did they want him at the deadline? Why did they want him last offseason? Probably the same answer. They need some power and Kim NG knows him from her Yankee days.
It would take more than torres and Schmidt, that’s for sure
I agree…..but I’d definitely start with something like that and see what else is needed. He’s exactly what this lineup needs…..lefty, high contact, low strikeout.
Yes Dream on…….2 starters including a starting pitcher for Arreaz and you think that’s not enough……..LOL your really dreaming…….
As a Yankees fan, no. The Marlins would absolutely not take 1 year @ 15 mil of Gleyber, and a passable 5th starter/swingman + change for a .354 hitter that’s controlled through 2025.
The convo would start with Arraez and a salary shed player for Torres and Mike King.
King isn’t going anywhere…..no thanks…….
Absolutely agree!
Lol @ YankeesBleacherCreature suggesting that the Yankees should trade King.
I don’t like to generalize but this is the most “yankees fan trade proposal” I’ve ever seen
You’ve outlined the all of the reasons (high contact lefty bat) Cashman would never trade for Arraez. The only high-contact guy Cashman has added in the last 10 years is LeMahieu and he was a salary dump off a down season by COL.
He was not a salary dump. He was a free agent with an unclear market value who was coming off a down season and was looking for a bounce back contract in the $10-13M range for 1-2 seasons. The Yankees gave him that. He flourished to his best numbers ever in NY and then got that $90M extension because he was seeking $80M-$100M on the open market and Yankees offered him the median between those two values and he had a couple of similar offers but preferred to stay in NY.
Lucky you.
DJL was a free agent when the Yankees signed him but it was after a down year.
I don’t know what the Yankees should do exactly, all I know is that Oswald Peraza isn’t a part of any solution. Trade him for whatever pitching you can get back, it won’t be anything of difference making value
I agree Bizzy.
He has value, but not to any contenders. And being out of options doesn’t help. Best case scenario, he’s traded for a cheap bullpen arm that’s gonna get non-tendered anyway. A guy the Yanks think they can fix from a team willing to give Peraza regular playing time. There’s a short list of suitors, off the top of my head.
He’s like 23, calm down
You guys crack us up with your “he doesn’t have any value to a contender……..contenders are contenders because of defense first…..look at the Astors when they promoted their shortstop….he wasn’t supposed to bring any offense either and guess what…..500 at bats later he’s a Gold Glove All Star because after not worrying about not starting because he didn’t go 3-4, after 80 games he finally came into his offense very nicely…..same might be said of Peraza but of course you guys couldn’t possibly see that……..
@rocky
There’s a difference. Peña was given the shortstop job as soon as it was his time. If he struggled, he could be sent down. The Yankees have shuttled Peraza up and down for a few years and he’s out of options. He doesn’t have a clear spot to play everyday with the current roster either. As far as contenders go, name me one team in the playoffs this year that would take Peraza over their current SS. Then you’ll almost have made a point.
Peraza is not out of options. Did I miss something? You get 3 years of options and can be sent down 5 times a year. I believe that’s how it works. Has perazza been on the team for 3 years?
once on the 40 man roster…if you don’t make the 26 man roster, you’ve been optioned
Trade andujar, delvi Garcia and Florial for Jose Ramirez!
Psst! Cashman is a prospect-hugger, pass it on!
“The Yankees’ Offseason Middle Infield Question”
Dear Yankees Brain Trust,
The middle of the infield is the pitcher’s mound.
You’re welcome.
“Clearly, the Yankees aren’t operating with the same financial constraints as the Brewers or Twins.”
Don’t be so sure about that MLBTR. The last two trade deadlines… the Yankees have largely been unable to make any major moves because of so many bad contracts hamstringing them. I’m not sure what their luxury tax gap is looking like this offseason, but even with the Donaldson money coming off the books, there are still a lot of holes to fill and that money will dry up quickly.
They still don’t have a LFer, CF looks open, 3B is a question mark, pitching will need some help, and SS isn’t exactly settled either. Volpe added a decent glove and plenty of counting stats, but he will need to take a step forward after an 84 wRC+ (AVG was down to .200 the 2nd half).
Florial might be a serviceable stopgap in CF until Jasson is healthy, but it’s not like either two are guaranteed to play well. Stanton can barely walk so you’ve got your DH spot filled up there, meaning Judge is your RFer. I’d bank on Rizzo returning to form, but what if he doesn’t? DJ is ageing and can’t be counted on to be the backup option for every single INF position outside of SS. Pereira is close, but you can’t count on him to be an Opening Day OFer going into the offseason.
The lineup is just really brutal and unreliable right now. I see folks saying to jettison Peraza, but I think he’s probably the safer bet to be their long term SS, with Volpe sliding over to 2B when Torres is traded/gone.
If I were the Yanks I’d be prioritizing Candelario as the main bat to bring in–and then seeing how much Kevin Keirmaier is asking for. Yanks should be avoiding injury-plagued guys as much as possible, but you might just need to gamble on one of the better lefthanded CFers on the market right now. He could be a really solid 4th OFer as Jasson/Pereira eventually take over in the OF.
I know there is pressure to make big moves with Cole and Judge not getting any younger, but outside of Bellinger or a big trade, I just don’t see Cashman doing enough to help fix this broken lineup. He was completely fine going into 2023 with no LFer, why would that change this offseason?
The only limitation on the Yanks’ spending is Cheap Hal’s self-imposed spending limit. The Yanks could have easily afforded to spend more in each of those seasons you referenced, but Cheap Hal wouldn’t let them go higher and cut into his extensive profit margin.
That sums it up nicely, mostly toasty, I agree completely. The biggest problem is cashman got us into this mess, and he still here. I do not trust him to get us out of it. It should be not that difficult to improve things, with hopefully some contribution from some of the Yankees prospects, and spending a little money, which they have plenty of, if they were willing to spend it , and spend it correctly right, but well you know, but that has not been done in quite a while on the Cashman and Steinbrenner
None of the options listed, including a single year of Torres in trade, look better than what Ibanez and Keith are likely to provide Detroit at twice the league minimum. 2B is not on their needs list.
Vaughan Grissom’s camp just loves all this talk about a lousy FA class of middle infielders.
Gleyber is still early on in his prime and was the Yanks 2nd best hitter last season. Can not understand why they are so eager to trade him.
it’s quite an achievement to have a 295M payroll and go into the offseason with no viable leftfielder, centerfielder or third baseman
It is indeed,Dasit, it takes a world-class level of incompetence, with such financial resources also, to end up in this position. Congratulations Cashman, Steinbrenner and perhaps a Boone, all deserve awards for world class level of incompetence
Yankees would be better off trading Torres and $5-7 million to the Marlins for a pitching prospect and young CF/OF.
Trading Torres would be idiotic. They can’t get better if they tried. Find some guys to build around him, don’t let him go. What a hoot.
And most of them didn’t hit more than a buck twenty five all season. That’s why TB out plays them in a series year after year.
Time to trade Gleyber. I don’t think see the Yankees being able to do enough in one offseason to become legitimate WS contenders next year. Gleyber also isn’t worth signing long term. Maybe a team like the Brewers gets desperate and overpays for him in a trade. One of their young left handed OFs would make for a nice return
Cashman and company have some tough decisions to make this winter. I can see them keeping everyone and putting Peraza at SS, Gleyber at 2nd, and Volpe at 3rd to start the season. Add DJ to the mix and Rizzo at first. I think they look to add a top quality starter and an outfielder like Soto or Bellinger.
Sure, it makes sense to play the best defensive player at SS, but the head honchos have already christened Volpe as the future, so don’t expect sense to prevail. Volpe is the NYY SS.
That makes perfect sense, I agree, which is why it will probably not be done, because the Yankees brass braintrust, makes befuddling decisions all the time, they have not worked out well in recent years. Under the reign of cashman, I do not expect that to change
Torres = lazy and will still never be Robinson Cano. Yanks could get a better 2B elsewhere
I agree with you on Torres but Robby Cano certainly wasn’t legging out infield hits either.
Keep Gleyber. Trade Brian for a bag of potato chips to be named later.