Gleyber Torres understands Yankees' reluctance to discussing contract extension
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres fields a ground ball during a spring training workout Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
TAMPA, Fla. — Gleyber Torres’ new mustache only made it as far as Photo Day. While the Yankees’ facial-hair policy does allow for a neatly groomed ’stache, Torres finally opted for the razor Wednesday once he envisioned himself on leaguewide video boards.
Credit Torres with a timely bolt of self-awareness. But it didn’t stop at the other end of the camera lens. The second baseman also displayed a pretty good sense of just where he sits in the Yankees Universe at the moment, and why he’s heading into a contract year with zero talk of an extension, as general manager Brian Cashman mentioned last week.
When pressed Wednesday on the subject, Torres was hardly surprised by the silence, citing the disastrous long-term extensions previously handed out to Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks only weeks apart during spring training in 2019. Severino made only 45 starts after receiving a four-year, $40 million deal that turned into $55 million after his $15 million option was picked up last season. Hicks got a seven-year, $70 million deal, but the Yankees cut him last May and are still paying the $20 million left on his deal to play elsewhere.
It’s rare for pending free agents in Torres’ situation to have a grasp on their own club’s economics. But after Cashman was burned badly by those preemptive deals, Torres can see the logic in punting on him until November, especially if the Yankees intend on making a run at Juan Soto after this season.
“I don’t blame him,” Torres said. “And I don’t blame the organization, because unfortunately, the past couple of years, we got a couple of extensions, like Sevy and Hicks, and they had injuries. As a team, and also as a business plan, to sign extensions and get people injured is not good for anybody.”
Torres said that he’s stayed in touch with Severino and has been talking to him since the two-time All-Star arrived in Mets camp this month. Just as Severino said recently that he always believed he’d “die a Yankee” Torre offered up a similar sentiment, saying “I want to be a Yankee for life.” But Severino is now more than a friend — he’s a cautionary tale.
“When you play with the Yankees, it’s special,” Torres said. “It’s an honor to play with the pinstripes . . . But at the end of the day, it’s a business. I hope Sevy has a really good year with the Mets and for myself have a really good year and stay for a long time.”
Keeping Torres in pinstripes could end up being a very expensive proposition for the Yankees if he has a repeat of last year (25 homers, .800 OPS). He’s hitting free agency at the age of 27, and since his 2018 rookie season, Torres has the third-most home runs (123) and is ninth in OPS (.789) among the 60 qualifying second baseman over that period. While Torres’ defense has dented his 13.8 WAR, which ranks 10th at the position in that span, he’s still set up well for a significant multiyear bump from his $14.2 million salary this season.
When it does come to that, the Yankees have more cost-efficient options for second base, namely Oswald Peraza, should they want to spend their money elsewhere next winter. But that’s not something Cashman is worrying about for this critical year in the Bronx. Having Torres hungry for his first crack at free agency is an ideal spot for the Yankees, especially with a very talented player who — let’s be honest — hasn’t always seemed laser-focused on the task at hand.
“There’s a pretty big carrot out there,” Aaron Boone said. And the way Boone gushed about him, along with his value to this Yankees lineup, the manager could be Torres’ agent. “He’s a guy that we count on a lot. I think he’s the guy that maybe some people aren’t talking about enough, as one of those linchpins in the middle of the order . . . Gleyber’s been that one guy that’s kind of been that rock, especially the last couple of years. I think he outperformed his final numbers.”
Torres isn’t a homegrown Yankee, but he took his first big-league steps in the Bronx less than two years after Cashman acquired him as the Cubs’ top-rated prospect in the half-season rental deal for Aroldis Chapman. It’s taken the past two seasons, after settling back in at second base, for Torres to climb closer to being the offensive hammer he was during his first two All-Star years. His mission now, with the money on the table, is to take aim at that 38-homer, .871 OPS campaign from 2019. Boone sounds bullish on Torres in that regard and likes what he’s witnessed from him so far.
“I noticed he got rid of that tired mustache,” Boone said. “I thought that was a good start.”
But Torres’ change is more than cosmetic. He seemed emotional at times in discussing his uncertain future in the Bronx, but overall at peace with his status. Not that Torres anticipates any movement on the contract front, but he set Opening Day as a cutoff date for negotiations.
“If I have a really good year, and I put up really good numbers,” Torres said, “I think we can get a conversation for sure.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
