3 Gleyber Torres trades Yankees must pursue this offseason

Despite all the mainstream pundits telling fans they have no right to be upset about another 99-win team that disappeared in October, the New York Yankees have plenty of work to do this offseason to get their roster right and compete for a title next fall.

That starts with fixing the offense — and there’s a lot to handle there. Of the team’s nine offensive starters, only a few seem to be locks to return: Harrison Bader, Jose Trevino (who could be upgraded), DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton (and both of … them could theoretically be traded?).

Yeah. Not a lot of certainty on this roster.

At first blush, that might make it seem foolish to deal Gleyber Torres, a 25-year-old with two years of control left who … is what he is, at this point. Most months of 2022, he was an above-average, All-Star-caliber hitter. In August and early September, he lost the plot entirely, potentially thrown off course by — what else? — trade rumors surrounding his name.

October, previously where Torres shined, ended up a wasteland for he and the rest of the Yankees, and the Bombers went down meekly to Houston as a result.

Trading Torres and creating more chaos is probably the easier path than keeping him and navigating his eventual free agency, though. If the Yankees’ plan went right, Aaron Boone is going to have to juggle the use of both Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza in the infield — not to mention Oswaldo Cabrera, who is not an outfielder. Then there’s LeMahieu, who’s locked up for four more years, Josh Donaldson, who also needs to go but has a brick of cash weighing him down, and a natural first baseman.

Too many cooks. It’s the reason we tried to shop Torres last year, only for him to throw those talks in our face with an All-Star first half. It’s the reason the Yankees themselves tried to shop Torres at the deadline, potentially undoing all remaining good will with a whisper.

Let’s be realistic. Just like Luke Voit wasn’t a fit in Oakland last winter, Gleyber Torres probably isn’t going to the A’s this time around, either. Oakland has no motivation to add a Yankee who isn’t a minor-league prospect to their current roster.

Ditto the Pirates, even though it’s kind of fun to toss Torres into some sort of David Bednar trade. “Deal a local hero for someone who’s a free agent after two years? How can we lose?!” Yeah, no go from Pittsburgh’s end.

All told, these three teams feel like the best fits for a Torres swap.

3 Gleyber Torres trades Yankees need to pursue before 2023

3. Gleyber Torres to Miami

It’s fair to wonder how the Yankees’ season would’ve wrapped if the last-second deadline deal that sparked a Torres slump had actually been completed. Something tells us it actually would’ve gone … worse.

The Yankees might’ve had to surrender Torres and Oswald Peraza to receive right-hander Pablo Lopez, who posted a 0.39 ERA in March/April and a 2.78 ERA in May, followed by … zero months with an ERA under 4.00. Even though Torres slumped and the team refused to play Peraza, it still seemed like a Frankie Montas-style disaster waiting to happen.

Montas has another year of control to show what he’s made of. The Marlins have another shot at Torres and a chance to reconstruct the deal around a centerpiece that actually works.

What about … Torres and Peraza for Edward Cabrera, the 24-year-old Miami fireballer who held opponents to a .177 average this season, striking out 75 men in 71.1 innings with a 3.01 ERA.

Too rich? Yankees would probably have to surrender another prospect in that deal, too? What about Torres for Marlins No. 8 prospect LHP Dax Fulton and one year of the pesky Joey Wendle?

Regardless of the permutations, the Yankees were selling Torres last deadline and the Marlins were buying. This is still the most likely match.

1. Gleyber Torres to Phillies

Rob Thomson and Kevin Long, say hello to your new star pupil!

Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies pursuing Torres would actually be the surest sign yet that the Yankees might want to rethink their plans and find room for him. Dombrowski typically doesn’t miss on buy-low candidates who fill the exact role he envisions for them, from Steve Pearce to Edmundo Sosa.

Torres obviously has more pedigree than those fill-ins-turned-leaders, and with hit machine Jean Segura running into a team option for 2023, there’s a good chance the Phillies will need some new blood at second base (after figuring out that Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm at short and third worked enough to take them to the World Series).

Segura, a beloved clubhouse presence, is about to turn 33 and just posted a 104 OPS+ campaign that definitely sounds more stable numerically than the actual experience of watching the campaign felt. Segura is essential to the Phils’ NL Champion chemistry, but the team’s fearless leadership probably has to be ready to move on this offseason.

Torres will be ready.

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