Yankees: Torreyes Will Continue To Push Headley To Be Better

Who says friendly competition isn’t good? For the New York Yankees, the injury to Didi Gregorius may spur positive results at other, more questionable positions.

In 2016, when Chase Headley went down with injury, Ronald Torreyes played exceedingly well for the Yankees, in his stead. In August of last season, as Headley dealt with a nagging calf strain, the 5-foot-8 Venezuelan, affectionately referred to as “Toe,” hit a robust .438 with one home run, four RBI, seven runs scored and six doubles in just 32 at-bats.

Once Headley reclaimed his starting third base spot, the former Padre slugged seven home runs and 24 RBI during the second half of the season. While there was indeed some back-and-forth from Headley — as he was less than enthused to lose playing time to Torreyes — especially after he was fully healed — the combination of the two at the hot corner for the Yanks worked well.

With Gregorius out another three-to-five weeks, Torreyes will get plenty of opportunities to prove he deserves the chance to challenge Headley once again, upon Gregorius’ return. Should both men deliver the type of results as they did on Tuesday night against the Rays, it’ll be some competition to watch!

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Not only did Torreyes play sparkling defense behind a highly-effective CC Sabathia, but he would belt the first Yankees home run of the new year. A deep two-run shot over the left field wall got the Yankees’ motors running.

Not to be outdone, Headley, or as his teammates call him, “Head,” went 2-for-4 with his own long ball. Headley capped off the affair with a RBI single in the eighth inning — the fourth such time he’s beat the shift this season.

It’s nice to see Headley begin the year on a high note — as he was often the subject of trade speculation this offseason. As I see it, the better “Head” plays, the more time the Yankees have to groom Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres down in the minors.

On top of the fact that Headley’s hitting should lead to more runs scored and therefore a better chance of winning games — if the Yanks were to merely play .500 ball this season (missing the Postseason), Headley could be an attractive trade chip come late July for a team in contention.

Next: Sabathia Thinks Rotation Can Be Very Good

Headley is a 10-year veteran — he knows he’s underachieved in a big way since coming to the Bronx. But with Torreyes pushing him each step of the way, I expect both to the reap the rewards of persistence. How long this production lasts, no one knows. But for now, let’s simply enjoy it.