When the New York Yankees acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a trade with the Miami Marlins a season ago, the hope was for Gleyber Torres to play third base. However, the former All-Star didn’t want to play third, causing confusion for the Yankees and putting them in a tough situation.
Torres has now gone on to take a deal with the Detroit Tigers, but he could face a similar situation in the coming months. The Tigers are loaded with young talent and have guys who need at-bats on a regular basis.
For Torres, that could mean a trade is possible if he isn’t willing to move around the infield.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicted that would happen when asked if the Tigers could face a challenging situation with their young talent.
“Torres didn’t want to move to third base for the Yankees last year after they traded for Jazz Chisholm Jr., so he’s likely not going to move to third for the Tigers either. He’s a below-average defender at second base, too.
“My guess is they keep Torres at second, and depending on how things play out between now and the trade deadline, consider dealing him at some point if they feel they’d be better aligned another way. Trying to figure out ways to get legitimate MLB bats into your lineup is always a good problem to have. I’ll leave that one for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to solve. He’s one of the best in the game, and I think he’ll figure it out,” Bowden wrote.
Yankees Wanted Torres to Play Third
The New York Yankees told Torres they wanted him to play third base. Unfortunately, it didn’t mean much to Torres, who believed he was a second baseman and should’ve been playing there.
Perhaps that was all in his fairness, as he was the Yankees’ second baseman for multiple years prior to the addition, but still, it would’ve been ideal if he had helped the team out and had done what was asked of him.
“I acquired Jazz to be our second baseman and move Gleyber to third the rest of last year,” Brian Cashman said, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “[Aaron Boone] wanted to do it the other way. He moved Jazz to third after we got him and kept Gleyber at second because Gleyber didn’t want to move to third and was unwilling.”
Rough Ending for Torres
The ending of the relationship between the New York Yankees and Torres didn’t go as planned. Once viewed as a fan favorite by most, his refusal to play third base and slumping didn’t help his cause.
Torres also made it known that his time with the Yankees didn’t end well, telling reporters prior to the Detroit Tigers season that he didn’t know what was going on in New York.
“To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on there,” Torres said. “I once believed everything was good, but I think not. I don’t want to give any comments. I’m focusing on my goals this year, to get better and help my team.”
Plenty has happened since, but if things continue to go the right way for the Tigers’ young players, it could cause even more confusion and have him on the way out.
Ex-Yankee Gleyber Torres Predicted to Be Traded