Yankees: 4 players the organization ruined in 2021

1. Gleyber Torres

It took nearly a full season’s worth of games (150, to be exact), but the Yankees have finally moved Gleyber Torres off shortstop … which many would argue probably should’ve been done, at the latest, before the trade deadline.

Even though it was painfully obvious in 2020 that Torres was unable to effectively field the shortstop position, most fans would agree that 42-game sample size wasn’t fair to the youngster, who was making a momentous shift that required a bit more patience.

But then 2021 came, and we saw enough. We saw enough in the first month, actually, but many were willing to let it last until the trade deadline, where we thought general manager Brian Cashman would address the issue if the problems persisted.

The problems indeed persisted, no change was made, and instead the Yankees waited until *checks calendar* Sept. 13 to do it. Now, with just under three weeks left in the season, Torres will have to adjust in a significant manner again. Could’ve just done it at the trade deadline to give him two months … not to mention the other players this will affect.

And you’d be insane to think the defensive troubles at short haven’t contributed to his disappearing abilities at the plate. He has just 10 home runs in his last 151 games after belting 62 in his first 267. He’s on pace to produce less than a third of that output in 23 more games.

It’s not easy to evaluate players, pinpoint problems, and make sweeping roster decisions. Everybody knows that. But everybody who had watched Torres over his last 100 games knew this wasn’t going to work … but the Yankees stuck with it, likely remaining stubborn because they needed their plan to unfold their way to justify giving DJ LeMahieu $90 million.

That’s been the all-too-familiar narrative with this organization for the better part of the last decade. And, in some way, it’s contributed to how these players have taken a step back as a whole or in recent weeks.

Yankees officially change Gleyber Torres’ position and welcome 2022 chaos

The New York Yankees opened Pandora's Box on Monday, moving Gleyber Torres off shortstop for the last...two weeks of the season.