What Yankees’ Gleyber Torres Wants In New Double-Play Partner

Above all else, Torres is hopeful that whoever the Yankees bring in to play shortstop next season will help in New York's pursuit of a championship.

After Gleyber Torres struggled mightily a season ago at the shortstop position, committing a total of 18 errors, the Yankees decided to move him back to second base where he has flourished in the past.

Now general manager Brian Cashman will be in the hunt for a new shortstop following the lockout.

But Torres isn’t discouraged by this move. The 25-year-old shifted back to second down the stretch of his 2021 campaign, which saw his bat come back to life after struggling offensively for much of the year.

With Torres back at the spot where he is most comfortable on defense, he isn’t too concerned about who his new double-play partner might be. That is, as long as that player comes in and helps the Yankees win games.

“Whatever guy comes into the team, an awesome minor league guy or a guy from another organization or from free agency, I hope that guy can come to the team and help us to win the World Series,” Torres told Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News.

“That is the only thing that matters to me. I just want to win. Whatever people come into the team, I want them to do well and help us win a World Series.”

Instead of working out at the Yankees’ spring training facility, Torres has spent his days training at a local high school in Tampa Bay, Fla., as he waits for the work stoppage to end.

After the lockout is finally over, the Yankees are expected to at least show interest in Carlos Correa and Trevor Story as potential shortstop options. However, this duo will be costly, which is why Cashman and his team could go the route of adding a stopgap defensive specialist to fill this hole until top prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza are ready for the big-leagues.

As for Torres, the Yankees are hoping he will be able to revert back to his 2018-2019 form, where he received back-to-back All-Star nods, while slugging 62 home runs and driving in 167 RBI across 267 games during this span. 

MORE: 

• Lockout Leaves Yankees’ 40-Man Roster Prospects in Limbo
• Max Scherzer Uses Yankees to Make Point About CBT
• Could Derek Jeter Reunite With the Yankees?

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