Yankees fans confused by intriguing signing's absence from spring training roster

The New York Yankees dropped their list of non-roster invitees to spring training on Thursday evening, obviously to distract from the bombshell Braden Shewmake DFA — you're not slick!

The whole 40-man roster will of course be in attendance, as well as 27 rookies, prospects, and extraneous veteran pieces who were inked to minor-league contracts prior to the season, like Paul DeJong. All of these side pieces — as well as several lower-level prospects who'll be called up from minor-league camp throughout the spring — will get significant run, especially given the number of World Baseball Classic participants the Yankees will be losing throughout the winter.

That knowledge made it even more glaring that Nick Torres was nowhere to be found on Thursday.

Torres, the 2025 Mexican League MVP and a 32-year-old slugging first baseman, was inked to a minor-league pact on Dec. 27. He hasn't played affiliated ball since 2018 with the Rangers, and while counting on him would be an absurdity, this spring felt like a nice opportunity to get to know him and track him. Who knows? Maybe he even turns into a nice platoon partner for Ben Rice down the line after some Triple-A seasoning?

We're not the only ones who wasted time unsuccessfully hunting for an update this week.

Yankees first base signing Nick Torres nowhere to be found among 2026 spring training non-roster invitees

Look, I don't know the first thing about Nick Torres — okay, well, actually, I know that he dominated the Mexican League and he stalled out in the Padres' system. But I definitely don't know the third thing and beyond about Nick Torres, and I was sort of excited to learn them this spring. Now, like this gentleman, I don't know where he is?

Torres wasn't slated to be a headliner, but in an offseason where the Yankees did so little work to bring in external free agents, a minor-league contract for an under-the-radar first baseman actually did stand out as notable — or, at least, it did until they declined to announce his attendance at camp and we lost track of him.

What's next, Yankees? You can't find Cade Winquest? Angel Chivilli shows up with gout? Yanquiel Fernández accidentally locked himself in a barn? Bring in more high-profile talent, and this level of fan desperation won't be a problem. For now, though ... what happened to Torres? Explain it to us like we're five.