The questions surrounding Gleyber Torres’ defensive capabilities at the shortstop position have grown louder overnight, with a costly throwing error in extra innings contributing to a frustrating Yankee loss on Wednesday night.
Torres fielded a seemingly routing grounder, taking the hop almost belt-high, before loading up and firing a short throw to Jay Bruce, who couldn’t handle the throw at first base, allowing the go-ahead run to score with two outs in the 10th inning. An out means a scoreless frame and the Yanks come to bat with the winning run in scoring position, per MLB’s new extra inning rules. Instead, the Bombers fought back to tie the game, only to lose in the 11th.
After the game, there was no underplaying the miscue by Torres, who is off to a rough start in his audition to prove himself as the team’s shortstop of the future.
“Just an in-between, made a really tough hop over there for Jay,” Aaron Boone said after the game. “Just a throw that you have to be more on target in that spot, and it turned into a tough play over there for Jay. It allowed them to grab the lead there.”
Here's a look at that very poorly timed throwing error by Gleyber Torres. pic.twitter.com/UcqUj8HXBt
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) April 8, 2021
The bounced throw came up to Bruce’s belt at first and likely could have been handled by a more regular first baseman, but the throw by Torres is the latest in a number of defensive concerns to start the season. He appeared to take a little too much time before throwing over for what would have been the last out of Tuesday night’s game, and the pause allowed Ryan Mountcastle to beat the throw and extend the game, leading to a pair of runs for the Orioles. The Yanks still breezed to a 7-2 win, but his errant throw on Wednesday, already his second throwing error of the season, was much more consequential.
While Boone admitted that Torres’ defense was costly on Wednesday, he still backed his shortstop and the progress he has seen from him since taking over for Didi Gregorius after the 2019 season.
“I think the important thing is to continue to reinforce a lot of the good things and a lot of the progress that he legitimately has made,” Boone said. “Whether it’s from all the reps he had in spring training, the routine, the work he’s doing, you have to continue to believe in that and trust in that. He has all the capabilities to be able to go out there and do it.”
Torres said he had been feeling good at shortstop so far this season earlier this week, but his defensive runs saved is already down to -2 after finishing with a -9 last year, per FanGraphs. When the errors are as costly as they were Wednesday, potentially serving as the difference between a win and a loss, those defensive questions become more pressing, especially with a load of high-profile shortstops set to become available via free agency this winter. But for now, Boone just wants to see Torres turn the page.
“You have a high-profile miscue, you have to be able to move past that,” Boone said. “The good thing about Gleyber Torres is he’s a great player, he’s working hard on his craft and he has all the equipment to get through that and get past that and come out on the other side.”
Torres blossomed into a superstar in 2019, has been an offensive weapon in his postseason career, and isn’t due to become a free agent until 2025. The 24-year-old has All-Star potential with his bat, but his glove will have to come around if he is to remain at such a defensively demanding position.
“There’s gonna be trials and bumps along the way for all of us in this game,” Boone said. “But the important thing is that he has the confidence and equipment to get through it.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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