Yankees should consider buying out Gleyber Torres’ arbitration years

The origins

As the 2016 season progressed, it became increasingly clear that the Yankees were in desperate need of a roster turnover. At 39-39 heading into July, the team was going nowhere while getting unproductive play from declining veterans such as Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Brian McCann. Meanwhile, aside from a few assets, the farm system was barren.

In July of 2016, I celebrated as I saw the news break. Aroldis Chapman had been traded to the Chicago Cubs. Admittedly, my smile faded as I analyzed the return for the Yankees. In the deal, the Cubs parted with a package headlined by a shortstop prospect named Gleyber Torres.

Torres was highly regarded, but in my mind, the Yankees needed immediate help rather than a teenager who had yet to reach Double-A. Plus, the team seemed set at the middle infield positions, with 26-year-old’s in Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro playing well.

Though the Yankee farm system was poorly ranked overall, five players on MLB.com’s top-30 prospect list for the organization were middle infielders, including the highly regarded Jorge Mateo (No.18 overall prospect in baseball at the time).