After a poor showing in virtually every aspect of this season, Gleyber Torres accepted responsibility in a brief interview with the media.
He could have left the visitors’ clubhouse at Citi Field and been on his way home before the distraction hit.
Manager Aaron Boone asked to talk to him.
The two spoke after the Yankees’ 9-7 loss to the Mets in their Subway Series opener on Tuesday, in which Torres had a disappointing performance at the plate, defensively and on the bases.
Torres’ batting average has dropped from .267 over his first six major league seasons to .215.
The hitter who hit 38 home runs in 2019 has hit seven in his first 80 games this season.
He brought in a .789 OPS this season (a very high mark for a player heading into free agency), but his OPS in 2024 (.627) plummeted.
Torres was 0-for-4 at-bats and his first out of the night came when he struck out with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the first inning, when the Yankees had failed to score a run.
“I just wanted to hit the ball and I just couldn’t do anything,” said Torres, who struck out again in the third inning, walked in the fifth and potentially took his batting struggles to the field in the sixth.
The Yankees were down 6-1 and in dire straits.
The Mets had runners on first and third base and the Yankees infield was drawn together.
Phil Bickford did what he wanted, hitting Brandon Nimmo’s grounder in Torres’ direction.
But the hard grounder slid under Torres’ glove and rolled into right field, the first of three Mets runs of the inning.
“We just had to make a play,” Boone said after Torres’ 12th fumble of the season. “The ball was hit sharply, but it wasn’t a play.”
A very bad day got even worse with the 8th inning.
Aaron Judge’s grand slam put the Yankees within two runs in a game that suddenly found momentum.
Torres stepped up to bat and hit a lightly hit, bounced grounder back to shortstop Francisco Lindor.
It could have been a close one, but it wasn’t as Torres didn’t sprint out of the box.
Torres is playing through a groin strain that caused him to miss last week’s game.
He said he felt nervous while at bat.
“He’s playing a little cautiously in some areas,” Boone said of Torres, adding that Torres is undergoing treatment and doesn’t want to miss any games.
But Torres, at least for now, is not contributing to the club.
“I think it was bad,” Torres said of the first half. [how] I’m trying really hard to get better.”
