On Saturday afternoon, Jon Heyman tweeted out some new information regarding the possible trade between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, which would involve Gerrit Cole as the centerpiece. He said that the Pirates asked for infielder Gleyber Torres in the deal, but he doesn’t believe that the Yankees would give him up.
Pirates have wanted Gleyber Torres in a Gerrit Cole deal. Can’t see yanks giving GT up. Frazier a more likely centerpiece, but would need to be more than 1 for 1. Perhaps andujar or Adams could be 2nd piece. Still negotiating.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 16, 2017
Torres is considered the top prospect for the Yankees and the second best prospect in baseball, trailing only Shohei Ohtani. Torres was likely going to make the majors at some point in 2017, but Tommy John surgery shut him down in mid-June. TJ surgery for position players has a shorter recovery time than pitchers, so he should be ready to go once the season starts. He has mainly been a shortstop during his career, who has an above average arm, with quick hands and excellent footwork. The Yankees had him start taking turns at second base in the AFL last year, then tried him occasionally at third base once the 2017 season started. The majority of his playing time was still at shortstop.
At the plate, the 21-year-old Torres, who just had his birthday on Wednesday, has an advanced approach at the plate. He’s got extremely quick hands, advanced plate patience and strong pitch recognition skills. Torres makes solid contact, with the ability to be an above average power hitter in the future. He put up an .863 OPS in 23 games at Triple-A before his injury.
If anything new comes up today, we will update this article.
