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The New York Yankees entered the offseason needing a third baseman and a corner outfielder.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres was a logical trade candidate.
Somehow, the team held onto him and found other solutions at the aforementioned spots.
Then, when spring training came along, pitchers started to get hurt.
First Frankie Montas, then Carlos Rodon, and Luis Severino after that.
Some suggested using Torres, again, as trade bait.
Nothing happened.
The infielder has admitted it himself: trade chatter might get in your head.
In fact, there are reports saying that the Yankees were set to trade him last year for Pablo Lopez, then on the Miami Marlins.
But, again, the Yankees did not flip him and made him their starting second baseman.
Torres knows the nature of the business is that you can get traded at any point, but he has done an admirable job staying focused on what he can control: his performance.
Gleyber Torres in 6 games this season:
.421/.560/.789
2 HR
6 RBI
6 BB
5 SB (T-1st in MLB)He had only 10 SB in 140 games last season. pic.twitter.com/vnvanIsMxd
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 7, 2023
He is tearing the cover off the ball with two home runs and a cool .421 average.
He is showing his keen eye at the plate with six walks in six games.
And, if that weren’t enough, he is leading the league in stolen bases with five.
Torres is doing it all on the field, and he is making it real difficult for the Yankees to give him up in a trade.
He is such a high trade risk because he is both young and good.
He recently reached 100 MLB home runs and he is just 26.
That tells you a lot.
If he keeps playing like this, Torres is going to force the Yankees’ hand and build himself a future with the team.
