Before he received a cortisone shot in his right wrist on June 27, Gleyber Torres knew in the back of his mind that every swing might come with a dose of pain.
Two weeks later, the Yankees’ second baseman can swing free — and has the results to show for it.
After going 0-for-3 in his first game back following the cortisone shot, Torres is batting .447 (17-for-38) over his last nine games, including six multi-hit efforts. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and a walk in the Yankees’ stunning 4-3 loss to the Reds on Tuesday at the Stadium. He has reasserted himself as a threat in the Yankees lineup and continued his bounce-back season after down years in 2020 and 2021.
“Mentality-wise, I know I can swing hard and not feel anything,” Torres said before the game. “So that is huge for me right now. … I feel confident right now.”
Overall, Torres is batting .276 with 13 home runs, 40 runs and five stolen bases through 77 games. That mark is just above where it was in Torres’ first two seasons in the big leagues (122 in 2018 and 128 in 2019), when he was also an All-Star.
Gleyber Torres belts a double in the first inning, one of his three hits in the Yankees’ 4-3 loss to the Reds. Robert Sabo
Torres is not one of the six Yankees currently set to go to Los Angeles next week as part of the American League All-Star team, but his manager stumped for him on that front Tuesday.
“He’s a guy that hasn’t been talked enough about in the All-Star conversation, too,” Aaron Boone said. “I heard a lot about some other guys, never about him. It’s like, man, he’s played so well, and played so well at second base. He’s been great on defense.”
Torres, whose five Defensive Runs Saved (per Fielding Bible) was tied for fifth among all second basemen and third in the AL, came in fourth place at his position in the AL All-Star fan voting — behind Astros star Jose Altuve, the Blue Jays’ Santiago Espinal and the Guardians’ Andres Gimenez. Altuve, who won the fan vote, is set to start at second base while Gimenez, the former Met, was voted in by his fellow players to back up Altuve.
While Torres could still potentially make the All-Star roster as an injury replacement, his value to the Yankees remains more important — especially with the wrist issue in his rearview mirror.
Torres had been dealing with wrist soreness for a few weeks before he received the cortisone shot, though it hadn’t totally sapped his production until the week leading up to the injection — during which he batted 2-for-22 across seven games.
But Torres has come back much stronger, so much so that he has found himself in the top half of Boone’s lineup in seven of his last eight starts.
“I love where he’s at,” said Boone, who hit Torres second on Tuesday. “I feel like since he’s come back from those couple days, he’s gotten really consistent and putting it in play with authority. But it’s more of the same. He’s been solid since the jump and continues to give us real good at-bats.”
For Torres, the production is especially rewarding after a tough 2020 and 2021. Across 169 games during those two seasons, he hit .256 with 12 home runs and a 96 OPS-plus — 4 percent below league average. The Yankees have pointed to Torres using his lower half more this season, which has led to increased power and hits coming aplenty as they have of late.
“I really feel confident every time I go to home plate right now,” Torres said. “I feel so proud because the work I put in during the offseason is showing right now. The way we play, everything is getting better and better.”
