Yankees MiLB News: Has Torrens Made Sanchez Expendable?

Feb 28, 2014; Lakeland, FL, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (right) runs around the bases and high fives third base coach Rob Thomson (59) after he hit a solo home run during the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Sanchez has been the priced prospect in the Yankees system for quite sometime. Some deem him as untouchable and the catcher of the Yankees future. I hold to a different theory. I think now is the time to trade Sanchez.

Sanchez is a great catcher and his offensive prowess is not to be underestimated. This season alone he is hitting .267 amid an 8-game hitting streak to go along with ten home runs. The Yankees farm system, which isn’t rich in infield or pitching prospects, is ripe with catching prospects. Why not dangle Sanchez out there and see if the Yankees can get a real star in return?

All Yankees fans have by now heard of Austin Romine and John Ryan Murphy. Most have heard of Peter O’Brien. Way down in Low-A ball, there is another catcher putting together an amazing season. Luis Torrens is on absolute fire for the Staten Island Yankees.

Torrens was signed last season out of Venezuela at the young age of 17. The 6’0″, 175-pound, right-hander jumped from rookie league in 2013 all the way to the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs to start 2014. Torrens short stint there proved he wasn’t ready and at 18-years of age simply needed some more work. Well, at Staten Island, Torrens is working.

Heading into the July 23rd game, Torrens has hit successfully in seventeen straight games. He has 28 hits in those seventeen games with nine multi-hit games in between. Torrens is striking out just 22 percent of the time and has raised his average to an unbelievable .389 in 18 games for the Staten Island Yankees. That’s right, folks, he went hitless in his debut for the team and has raked ever since.

Now, I’m not implying that Torrens is the catcher for 2015 or even 2016. Brian McCann isn’t going anywhere and John Ryan Murphy has proven to be a reliable back-up. With Peter O’Brien hitting home runs on the hour and Torrens seemingly the hardest out in minor league baseball, why not consider moving our top piece for a real pitching gem. Chase Headley and Brandon McCarthy are nice players and have done well thus far, but let’s not kid ourselves. If the Yankees want to really contend for Derek Jeter’s grand finale, they need to stop scraping from the top of the mid-level heap and go after a game changer. Unfortunately, that will cost them, but maybe now is the time to move Sanchez.