Gleyber Torres and the Yankees Avoid Arbitration
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The New York Yankees and infielder Gleyber Torres agreed to a $9.95 million, one-year contract on Saturday, avoiding an arbitration hearing. The Yankees offered Torres $9.7 million, after he asked for a raise from $6.25 million to $10.2 million in arbitration.
Torres made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2018. He is a two-time All-Star, a .265 hitter, has 310 runs batted in (RBI), and 98 homeruns. In the 2022 season, the second baseman hit .257, with 24 homeruns, and 76 RBIs.
The 26-year-old had a good comeback year in 2022 after having two down years in 2020 and 2021, however he has not quite been the All-Star player he was in 2018 and 2019.
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The Yankees had nine players in arbitration, including pitchers Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King, Wandy Peralta, Nestor Cortez, and catchers Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka. Each player settled on a deal with the Yankees just two-weeks before spring training.
Although Torres has another year with the Yankees, he has been seen as a possible trade candidate due to the infield depth the bombers have. There have already been trade rumors including his name, one during last year’s trade deadline with the Miami Marlins, and another during the off-season with the Seattle Mariners.
Image via Yankees.com
If DJ LeMahieu stays healthy, he could potentially play second base if Josh Donaldson, coming off an abysmal year, cannot get traded or puts together a bounce-back year.
The Yankees also have utility-men Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera who could also be seen playing second base if top prospect Anthony Volpe or Isiah Kiner-Falefa are seen in the shortstop role.
Torres remains under team control through the 2024 season, his last year of arbitration.
