‘Veteran young guy’ Gleyber Torres showing Yankees signs of leadership

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‘Veteran young guy’ Gleyber Torres showing Yankees signs of leadership

Sat, 06/03/2023 - 13:44
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Only 26 years old, Gleyber Torres doesn’t consider himself a veteran.

“I feel the same younger way,” the six-year pro told the Daily News, but he’s no longer among the Yankees’ youngest players. That group has been headlined by Anthony Volpe, 22, and the recently demoted Oswaldo Cabrera, 24. Other pinstriped contributors this season, including Oswald Peraza and Jhony Brito, also predate Torres, who debuted at age 21 in 2018.

“He’s like the veteran young guy,” Cabrera told The News. “When you say veteran, that doesn’t mean you have to be an old guy.”

While Torres can debate his veteran status with his younger peers, there’s no denying that the second baseman has shown signs of growth this season. At the plate, that’s meant well-documented adjustments to his approach, which has yielded better strikeout and walk rates and a higher on-base percentage.

But Torres has also shown more leadership this year, a development that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Yankees players, coaches and personnel — even if he downplays that characterization, too.

“He’s just kind of adopted it and kind of looked around the room and been like, ‘Well, I’ve been here longer than this guy, this guy, this guy,’” Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ captain, told The News. “No one ever tells you, ‘Hey, now you’re gonna be a leader.’ It just kind of organically happens, and he’s stepped right into that role perfectly.”

For Torres, leadership has come in the form of chatting up and hanging out with the likes of Volpe, Cabrera and, when he’s been around, Peraza. Cabrera and Peraza share Venezuelan roots with Torres, giving them something in common. Torres said that he’s connected with Volpe, too, as the two arrived in the majors with similar expectations as top prospects.

“He always is giving me tips about the game,” Cabrera said, adding that bonding sessions have happened over dinners and hotel FIFA matches. “He always is talking with me about the pitcher, whatever situation’s happening, inside and outside of the field. He’s always talking with me as a leader.”

Volpe said that Torres’ “even-keel” demeanor has had a “calming” effect on the rookie, while Aaron Boone added that a maturing Torres can “relate to a lot of what these guys are going through, especially Anthony. So he’s using his experience in a valuable way now.”

Judge mentioned that Torres’ ability to speak English and Spanish allows him to translate for younger Latin American players on and off the field.

The way Torres sees it, he’s just trying to make things “a little easier, like people did for me from the beginning.” Those people included Judge, Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia, who recognized that making young players feel comfortable benefited the entire team.

Torres couldn’t agree more. “It’s really good as a player when you come into the huge teams as a younger guy and everybody gives you the confidence to play your game and don’t worry about anything, just play,” he said. “That is a huge deal for me. So I think for the younger guys right now on the team, we try to do the same thing.”

While Judge noted that leadership roles happen organically, bench coach Carlos Mendoza said that the Yankees expected Torres to be more of a mentor this season.

Mendoza thought Torres’ imperfect journey could aid the team’s neophytes, as his career has included prospect hype, immediate success, disappointing seasons, position changes and trade rumors. Torres isn’t that old, as Mendoza reiterated, but he has experienced a lot.

“He’s been through some ups and downs,” Mendoza said. “He knows what struggles feel like, the highs, the lows. He’s making sure he shows the way to some of the younger guys that are new to the league.”

Not that he would have been expected to at such a youthful age, but Torres didn’t necessarily have to play a leadership role in years past. Older players like Gardner and Sabathia commanded the clubhouse at the end of their careers, while Judge honed the skills that made him the Yankees’ captain. Others, such as Marwin Gonzalez and, earlier in Torres’ career, Didi Gregorius, played a part in shepherding young Spanishspeaking players.

Torres was one of those players. Now he’s on the other side of it, even if he says, “I don’t feel like a leader.”

“I’m just always hoping to help,” Torres said, adding that he’s still learning himself.

Ask Judge, however, and Torres is being modest.

“He may only be 26,” Judge said, “but he’s starting to become that veteran presence that we need in this clubhouse.”