Written by Jon Tayler at SI.com
The Yankees will have to wait until next season for their top prospect to reach the Bronx. On Monday afternoon, the team announced that shortstop Gleyber Torres will miss the rest of the 2017 season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Torres, who was acquired from the Cubs last July in the Aroldis Chapman trade, suffered the injury while sliding into home plate on Saturday and will undergo Tommy John surgery at a date to be determined later, according to a press release.
Update on INF Gleyber Torres: pic.twitter.com/hYNTpjGIeb
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) June 19, 2017
Ranked the No. 5 prospect in the game by Baseball America before the season, the 20-year-old Torres got off to a terrific start in his first taste of Double A, hitting .273/.367/.496 in 139 plate appearances with five homers and five steals for Trenton. Despite his young age, he was promoted to Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on May 23 and, after a slow start, continued to hit at the highest level of the minors, putting up a .309/.406/.457 slash line in 96 plate appearances across 23 games.
Torres’ excellent season combined with another down year from regular third baseman Chase Headley (who is hitting .244/.329/.364 through 255 plate appearances) had most baseball analysts and fans wondering whether the Yankees would look past his age and promote him to the majors to take over at the hot corner. But while Torres had been playing more regularly at third in both Double and Triple A, his manager at Scranton, Al Pedrique, told ESPN that he felt the Venezuelan infielder needed more seasoning in the minors. “If you ask me today, if the call comes, he is not ready,” Pedrique said, noting that Torres’ defense still needed work.
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