http://nypost.com/2017/02/15/gleyber-torres-is-dazzling-yankees-camp/
TAMPA — While pitchers and catchers worked out for the first time this spring at Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday, the Yankees’ potential infield of the future was doing drills at the minor league complex.
The group of Greg Bird at first, Miguel Andujar at third, Didi Gregorius at short and Jorge Mateo and Gleyber Torres splitting time at second and short didn’t quite draw the attention of onlookers like Gary Sanchez’s and Aaron Judge’s batting practice, but it was pretty close.
And as long as Torres gets a chance to spend time playing with Gregorius, the crown jewel of the Yankees farm system is going to take advantage of it.
“I want to get as much experience with him as I can,” Torres said. “That’s my main goal this spring.”
The 20-year-old was the centerpiece of the package the Yankees received from the Cubs last July in return for Aroldis Chapman.
Now, they have to figure out where his future is.
GM Brian Cashman has said he wants versatility in his minor leaguers, which is among the reasons Torres hasn’t just played shortstop.
Yankees infield coach Joe Espada has been working with Torres since the Arizona Fall League and was just as impressed by his glove as he was by Torres’ well-chronicled bat.
TorresCharles Wenzelberg
Espada sees Torres as a shortstop whose future may lie elsewhere.
“I think right now he should play short,” Espada said. “Maybe later in his career — he’s still so young — he’s gonna be asked to play somewhere else.”
That could be second base or even third.
“If he grows into his body, he could be moved,” Espada said. “I could see him filling out where it makes more sense to get him off short.”
When asked about the possibility of switching positions, Torres said he’d be open to it, but he still considers himself a shortstop.
“I think I’m a shortstop,” the native of Venezuela said. “But if they need me somewhere else, I can do that.”
He’s already impressed some of his past and future teammates.
“He can play,” Gregorius said.
“He’s as good a shortstop as I’ve ever played with,” said lefty pitcher Justus Sheffield, who played with Torres at Single-A Tampa before Sheffield was bumped to Double-A Trenton. “He’s got range and great hands. And not having to pitch to him anymore is a help.”
Sheffield said they still talk about the home run Torres hit off him when they were in Single-A in 2015 when Torres was with South Bend and Sheffield was with the Indians’ affiliate Lake County.
Didi Gregorius and Gary SanchezCharles Wenzelberg
“I don’t remember too many home runs I gave up, but even then, you knew how good he was gonna be,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield arrived last July, as well, in the trade that sent Andrew Miller to Cleveland. The two newcomers say they’ve already started plotting their path to the Bronx.
Espada is confident Torres will be ready for the spotlight if and when he lands in New York.
“He’s very mature,” Espada said. “In Arizona, he was playing with older guys and fit in and actually played better than he did with us [in Single-A]. His inner clock is advanced. He already knows how to play the game at a high level.”
Torres will try to grow more accustomed to playing second, as well as with the shift, because Espada said Torres wasn’t very familiar with how the Yankees used it.
“He’s a good-looking player,” Espada said. “If he gets to New York, he’ll be able to handle what goes on there. He already knows how to deal with a lot of expectations at a young age.”
Torres doesn’t figure to be alone in being in the spotlight as he moves through the system.
“It feels pretty good to be part of this group,” Torres said
