The New York Yankees have internal options to replace Gleyber Torres, and with the second baseman still on the market, there’s even an outside scenario he could return. Free agencies are tricky, and anything can truly happen.
From the sound of things, Torres will be on a new team in 2025, making the Yankees finding a replacement just as crucial as any other position.
Among the potential internal options includes Oswald Peraza, a prospect who’s had the chance to prove what he’s worth at the Big League level.
In 259 MLB plate appearances, Peraza has slashed .216/.297/.315. His below-average production didn’t lead to much optimism from Aaron Boone in the early stages of the 2024 season, making comments that Randy Miller of NJ.com believes showed the Yankees lost confidence in the youngster.
“I think he has a chance to,” Boone said. “The talent is that. Can he make that next level of jump adjustment to take advantage of the opportunities he gets? It’s in there, but he’s still got to get better, too.”
Peraza ‘Won’t Be Back’
The New York Yankees could view Peraza as someone who could play second base for them in 2025, but expecting a 24-year-old who hasn’t shown the ability to hit at the Big League level to perform would be a disaster waiting to happen.
Thomas Carannante of FanSided believes the Yankees will cut ties with him, highlighting that they’ve already moved multiple assets and need to move him, too.
“We were stunned when we looked at the Yankees’ roster and realized Peraza was still here. Though there’s a very realistic scenario where Peraza remains as the second/third baseman/utility option depending on what the Yankees do with Jazz Chisholm … isn’t Oswaldo Cabrera the better fit for that? He just proved his ability to deliver if the team needs him to play in 100+ games per year.
“The Yankees will have to sell low on Peraza if they move him. Don’t know who it might be for, but unless there are big plans for him in 2025, there’s no reason to keep him wasting away on the bench or at Triple-A. They’ve already devalued the asset, so it’s time to either take the plunge or cut ties,” Carannante wrote on December 14.
Yankees Don’t Believe in Peraza
While the New York Yankees once viewed Peraza as a potential every-game player on the Major League team, that was quickly put to rest due to his offense not improving.
Struggling in a small sample size isn’t uncommon for a young player, but he isn’t exactly a young prospect, and if the Yankees continue to wait, he’ll be gone anyways. At this point, trading him, even if he’s thrown in a package that would help them land a marginal upgrade, would be the better plan.
Brendan Kuty of The Athletic believes the Yankees don’t believe in him to give him full-time Big League at-bats, and if that’s the case, keeping him in the minors doesn’t do anyone any good.
“And Peraza has always had the defensive ability to play in the majors, though the Yankees clearly haven’t believed enough in his bat to give him a full-time chance,” Kuty wrote on December 3.
Comments
Yankees Predicted to Cut Ties With Potential Gleyber Torres Replacement