2-Time All-Star Infielder Predicted to Leave Yankees For Division Rival

Projected Starting Lineup

RF George Springer
2B Gleyber Torres
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3B Nolan Arenado
LF Michael Conforto
SS Bo Bichette
CF Daulton Varsho
DH Spencer Horwitz
C Alejandro Kirk
SP Kevin Gausman

“The Blue Jays sold at the trade deadline, but they stopped short of moving any key controllable pieces, and all signs point to them approaching the offseason as buyers,” Reuter wrote. “After making a legitimate push to sign Shohei Ohtani last winter, the organization is clearly willing to spend in the right situation, and the above additions would make this a bona fide contender.”

The Blue Jays do have a need at second base and Torres certainly makes sense. The 27-year-old is a two-time All-Star and last season, he hit .257 with 15 home runs and 63 RBIs.

What is Torres Expected to Get in Free Agency?

Torres is likely to take a short-term deal in free agency to try and rebuild his value.

MLBTradeRumors predicts Torres will sign a two-year $36 million deal in free agency.

“There’s a wide range of outcomes with his free agency,” the article read. “Torres has youth on his side, as he’ll play all of next season at 28. He’s the best pure second baseman available, and he doesn’t come with a qualifying offer attached. A three-year contract isn’t unreasonable, and there’s an outside chance he could still nab a four-year deal.

“At the same time, he’s hitting the market coming off a platform year that wasn’t especially impressive in aggregate. Torres could look for a one-year or a two-year contract that allows him to opt out and try again at age 29. We’re predicting he’ll sacrifice a bit on the overall guarantee to secure that market flexibility.”

Torres would look to re-enter the free agent market once again before the age of 30.

Yankees GM Thanks Torres For Contributions

Although Torres is still a free agent, the Yankees have appeared to move on from him.

During the GM meetings, Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman thanked Torres for his contributions to the team over the years.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do just yet, but I want to thank Gleyber for the time why he was here without closing any doors on a reunion happening,” Cashman said.

Cashman also says the Yankees are evaluating their options at second base, which could include Torres returning.

“Gleyber is a free agent, so there’s a vacancy currently,” Cashman said. “So what are our internal options? If you don’t re-sign Gleyber, do you move Jazz, who was learning third base on the run in the second half last year? Do you look at Caleb Durbin? Are there external candidates that you run into that you can import as a free agent that might not be Gleyber? Maybe you bring Gleyber back. Is there a trade candidate? Our job is to evaluate all of it and then how it settles in with the rest of the roster. Those are things that we will be doing.”

Torres has been a member of the Yankees organization since 2016 but made his MLB debut in 2018.