Half 24 in a collection analyzing the New York Yankees
Fake you might be Brian Cashman, and Hal Steinbrenner is on the telephone. The proprietor tells you he needs to supply Gary Sanchez or Aaron Choose a multi-year deal. Nevertheless, he solely needs to make the provide to one in all them.
Which one do you counsel to Steinbrenner? A catcher with uncooked energy whose common for the reason that starting of 2018 has declined, is taken into account below-average defensively and susceptible to lower-body accidents? Or a proper fielder with even larger right-handed energy who has missed vital time throughout the previous two years attributable to accidents?
Sanchez or Choose?
“Neither,’’ you inform Steinbrenner.
“Why not?’’ he asks.
“I might slightly try this with Gleyber Torres,’’ is your reply.
“Inform me why?’’ says an intrigued Steinbrenner.
Don’t snort.
![Gary Sanchez; Gleyber Torres; Aaron Judge]()
Sanchez and Choose make sense, too, however in Torres the Yankees have a budding celebrity who performs in the course of the infield and hits with energy. And he received’t be 24 till December. Choose turned 28 final month and Sanchez can be 28 in December.
Even when there aren’t any video games this season, gamers can be credited with service time. Meaning Sanchez and Choose can be free brokers following the 2022 season.
Torres, who was scheduled to make $675,600 this yr, can’t be a free agent till after the 2024 season, so he might be extra prepared to safe a long-term contract.
When Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was 21, he agreed to an eight-year, $100 million deal that runs by means of the 2026 season, so there’s a barometer about long-term offers for younger gamers. And the Yankees, to a level, did it with Aaron Hicks (seven years for $70 million) and Luis Severino (4 years at $40 million) and watched each get harm.
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So there’s the chance issue to think about.
Regardless of Torres being an AL All-Star in his first two seasons and slugging a team-leading 38 homers, driving in 90 runs and posting a .853 OPS final yr, there are questions on him.
Entrance and middle is whether or not he can play shortstop on a full-time foundation after the Yankees watched Didi Gregorius go away for Philadelphia as a free agent. Scouts received to look at Torres at quick final yr earlier than Gregorius made it again from Tommy John surgical procedure and famous Torres’ footwork wasn’t as clean as it’s at second base.
Torres dedicated 11 errors in 77 video games at quick and 9 in 65 video games at second.
And there are questions on his vary, although that is perhaps overrated contemplating what number of occasions the Yankees have three infielders on the identical aspect of the infield after they shift. 5 errors in 10 spring coaching video games raised eyebrows, too.
“Probably not good proper now,’’ Torres informed The Publish’s Ken Davidoff on March 11 about his protection. That was at some point earlier than the coronavirus ended spring coaching and led to the common season being placed on maintain.
“He’s Gleyber Torres. I don’t see something completely different,’’ Cashman mentioned the identical week when requested about Torres’ protection, however the GM did admit he had been tied up with administrative work which lower into his stay appears at video games.
But, there isn’t any denying the bat is respectable. Sure, final yr’s ball was seemingly constructed with decrease laces and wound tighter, which helped hitters set a serious league file for homers with 6,776.
In 267 massive league video games, Torres is hitting .275 with 62 homers, 167 RBIs and a .849 OPS. In the identical two-year interval, Choose has performed 214 video games and Sanchez 195. Choose has hit .276 with 54 homers, pushed in 122 runs and posted a .920 OPS. Sanchez’s common is .211 with 52 homers with 130 RBIs and a .776 OPS.
So who will get the provide?