Gleyber Torres is no longer at shortstop, and Gary Sanchez’s future at the plate is in doubt.
Both will be scrutinized instead of being trusted members of the Yankees’ core, with Brian Cashman announcing Tuesday that the team will be looking for a new shortstop this offseason after Torres was moved back to second base in the final month of the regular season.
“The bottom line is shortstop is an area of need and we have to address it,’’ the general manager said on a Zoom call, as the team announced Aaron Boone would be back as manager. “Gleyber is best served at second base, in reality.”
In September, the Yankees acknowledged their mistake and rearranged the infield, moving Gio Urshela from third to short and DJ LeMahieu from second to third, with Anthony Rizzo at first.
Cashman added he tried to trade for a shortstop in July, but “failed in that endeavor.”
He’ll have a lot of choices now.
While Cashman did not specify how the Yankees would go about finding a new shortstop, the position will be flooded with free agents, including Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager.
They could also get a cheaper stopgap while waiting for Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe, two top prospects. Both are at least a year away, and there are still doubts about Peraza’s bat and Volpe’s ability to play shortstop in the majors.
Last offseason, the Yankees made a big bet on Torres’ ability to play shortstop, signing DJ LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million deal with the expectation that LeMahieu would play second and Torres would play short.
Sanchez’s future is less certain, as the Yankees are expected to owe him more than $7 million in arbitration this offseason, and his performance has remained inconsistent.
“We’ll see,” Cashman said when asked if Sanchez was the Yankees’ catcher.
Sanchez has “definitely come a long way defensively with a lot of hard work put in,” according to Cashman.
Sanchez’s defense, however, “tailed off” toward the end of the season, according to the GM.
Cashman described him as “one of the best offensive catchers in the game.” “At each position, we must assess the marketplace.”
Sanchez rebounded from a down year in 2020, finishing with an OPS of.730. His pitch-framing ability has been praised by the Yankees, but more was expected of him at the plate.
