Gleyber Torres the logical choice for Yankees' leadoff spot if hobbled DJ LeMahieu isn't healthy enough
Gleyber Torres of the Yankees hits a single in the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays during a 2024 Grapefruit League Spring Training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 6 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Getty Images/Julio Aguilar
TAMPA, Fla. — As much as DJ LeMahieu tried to deny it Wednesday, the Yankees are now on the verge of another season with their leadoff hitter’s status in jeopardy, or at the very least compromised by the bone bruise affecting his right foot.
Gleyber Torres assumed the role for that night’s game against the Pirates at Steinbrenner Field, as he’s the Yankees’ primary leadoff replacement with a lefty on the mound, in this case Pittsburgh’s Marco Gonzales. And if LeMahieu doesn’t significantly improve by early next week, figure Torres to be atop the order again for the March 28 opener against the Astros’ ace lefthander Framber Valdez.
One feature that manager Aaron Boone likes about having Torres in the leadoff spot is moving Giancarlo Stanton higher up in the order and that worked to devastating effect Wednesday night. Stanton, hitting cleanup, drilled two spectacular homers off Gonzales — one that cleared the leftfield scoreboard and another that caromed off the top of the batter’s eye in centerfield. Torres had a pair of singles through the first three innings.
Although LeMahieu insisted he’d be ready for Opening Day, Boone would not commit to the idea, perhaps learning his lesson with the recent handling of Aaron Judge’s abdominal crisis over the past week and a half. Two days earlier, Boone — usually an eternal ray of optimism — described LeMahieu’s bone bruise as “pretty significant” and stressed how they would be extremely cautious with his recovery.
That’s the smart approach at this point of the season. It’s late March, not early October. And when LeMahieu described his main focus Wednesday as “trying to get the swelling out,” it’s not wise to hustle back to baseball activity, especially for someone who’s been plagued by problems with the same foot for two straight seasons.
“I think it’s completely how the next several days go,” Boone said Wednesday afternoon. “But I think he understands my stance, the trainer’s stance, and I think he’s totally on board with that, knowing this is not something we’re going to play through.”
Before Saturday, when LeMahieu hit a foul ball off the top of his foot, the two-time batting champ was motoring through a solid spring and poised to resume his leadoff duties at the top of the Yankees’ upgraded lineup, followed by Juan Soto and Judge. But now that LeMahieu is sidelined again by a wobbly wheel, Boone & Co. may have to revisit their other options for atop the order, a place that has seen plenty of turnover the past two seasons, with mixed results.
Last season, the Yankees used 14 leadoff hitters, ranging from the gimpy LeMahieu’s 58 games down to one-game cameos by Josh Donaldson, Greg Allen, Billy McKinney and Oswaldo Cabrera. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the motley crew combined to hit .227 with a .306 on-base percentage (both ranked 27th in the majors).
Torres was next in line behind LeMahieu with 33 games, and he gets the gold star among that group for hitting .272 there, the best of anyone with 10 or more at-bats in that spot during last season (the .308 OBP was not ideal, of course). Go back another season, to 2022, and the Yankees’ leadoff production was among the MLB’s best, even with a sub-par year from LeMahieu (90 games, .256 BA, .358 OBP).
There was a big reason for that, a 6-foot-7 one to be exact. The Yankees used Judge atop the order for 34 games — in the midst of an MVP season, chasing down Roger Maris and building a case for his eventual $360 million contract. So with Judge hitting at a .366 clip at leadoff, with a .481 OBP, the Yankees ranked second in OBP (.370) from that spot (behind the Mets’ .379) and sixth in batting average (.270).
By that measure, Judge has been the Yankees’ most impactful leadoff hitter on the roster. But they were scrambling for viable DJ replacements, again going with 14 for the season. After LeMahieu and Judge, it was the fading Aaron Hicks (14 games) and the fleeting Andrew Benintendi (nine).
The pre-bruise LeMaheiu was prepped to restore some stability to the leadoff spot for the first time since he hit there for 146 games in 2021 following an MVP-caliber performance during the COVID-shortened season. But the Yankees have appealing platoon alternatives in Torres and the newly-acquired Alex Verdugo, a career .290 hitter against righties with an .807 OPS. For Torres, it’s a primo spot to be protected by Soto and Judge, the most dangerous combo in the sport.
“It’s going to be a good opportunity to have a pitcher attack me a little bit more in the strike zone because they don’t want to walk me with those guys behind me,” Torres said before Wednesday’s game. “It’s going to be an interesting situation.”
Torres improved nearly 20 points in batting average (.273) and almost 40 in OBP (.347) from 2022 to last season while walking at a higher rate (6.8% to 10.0%) and whiffing at a lower clip (22.6% to 14.6%). Those are promising trends that will translate to big bucks if they continue for Torres, a pending free agent, and would serve the Yankees’ well when they do turn to him for the leadoff spot.
“You don’t have to be overly aggressive,” Torres said. “Get the pitch you can do damage with. If they don’t throw you anything, just pass the baton.”
Depending on LeMahieu’s health over the coming days, Torres could be the one holding it first for Opening Day.
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.
