Yankees: What the Ronald Torreyes trade means for Tyler Wade
A day after being designated for assignment the Yankees found a home for utility man Ronald Torrrryes by trading him to the Cubs for a player to be named or cash considerations. With Toe now gone that likely means Tyler Wade has the inside track to win the utility job in 2019.
Last season the Yankees had a collection of guys who served as the team’s primary utility player over the course of 162 games. At the beginning of the season, it was Torreyes just as he was for the entire 2016 and 2017 campaigns.
However, the early season arrivals of rookies Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar combined with the presence of veteran Neil Walker forced Torreyes to be demoted to Triple-A in late May. It was there he joined Wade at Scranton after he was sent down himself in late-April.
Wade had the opportunity to take command of the second base job out of spring training but he hit .074 in 27 at-bats with 9 strikeouts. After a very strong spring training, Wade earned the right to be on the 25-man roster to start the season, but he looked overmatched at the plate just as he did in limited at-bats during the 2017 season. Wade struggles opened the door for Torres to be called up and then he didn’t return to the big league roster until July 6th.
Torreyes was also stuck at Triple-A for most of the season following his demotion and Walker eventually took over as the team’s main utility player. For basically the first time in his career, Walker wasn’t the everyday starter at second base and played all over the infield and even some right field. Walker was very solid during the second half of the season in his new role, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be back next season because he’s a free agent.
I believe the Yankees should strongly consider bringing Walker back for the right price in 2019 but if they don’t there’s a good chance that Wade is going to see a lot of playing time. With the injury to Didi Gregorius, the Yanks will have an opening at either second base or shortstop for the majority of next season.
Unless they sign a Manny Machado or someone else to help fill the void left by Didi there really aren’t many other options other than Wade to get those at-bats. Gleyber Torres is going to get everyday at-bats regardless of if he’s playing short or second and now that Toe is gone the only other healthy middle infielders on the roster are Wade and recent acquisition Hanser Alberto.
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Given how poorly Wade has swung the bat throughout his young career (.161 career AVG) I doubt the Yanks would go into next season with him as their starting shortstop or second basemen. However, even if they do resign Walker or acquire someone else that still leaves Wade to be the main utility player on the roster.
The Yanks have always had high hopes for Wade and have given him multiple chances to prove himself at the big league level over the past two seasons. His at-bats have been somewhat limited but that’s mainly because he’s been unable to produce when given his opportunities.
Wade has the tools to be a solid big league utility player with his incredible speed and above average glove but if he doesn’t hit the Yankees can’t afford to give him consistent at-bats.
Hopefully, third time is the charm for Wade in 2019 and he can figure things out and stick around because if he can’t the Yankees will regret letting go of Ronald Torreyes.