Gleyber Torres acknowledged the obvious: he didn’t run hard off the plate, and manager Aaron Boone acknowledged he made the right call benching him for most of Friday night’s game against the Blue Jays in the Bronx.
“I think he did the right thing, especially in that moment,” he said. “As a professional, you have to accept the consequences.”
The second baseman was limited to a single when his second-inning liner hit the left field fence and then was out at home plate on Anthony Volpe’s double.
If he had been on second base, he would clearly have scored.
“For a second I thought it was a home run. Unfortunately [was] “Just singles,” Torres said. “I’ve got to get better. [did] I’m going to do my best tonight, especially for the fans and for my teammates.”
Boone replaced Torres after three innings and allowed him to continue pitching despite his initial lack of effort.
Boone’s reasoning was that he wanted to give Oswaldo Cabrera time to prepare to play in a game.
“It was just something I felt the need to do in that moment. Simple as that,” Boone said. He declined to provide details about the decision or the conversations he had with Torres when he replaced him. “I hope this is a great learning moment for all of us.”
Torres is expected to start Saturday, according to Boone.
Captain Aaron Judge said he spoke with Torres but would not provide details.
“To be pulled in a game like that and have Gleyber come back and be in the front row, standing by the fence cheering on the guys, it just speaks to the kind of guy he is deep down,” Judge said. “It’s a tough situation. … He could have run and hidden and met everybody tomorrow. He was front and center.”
When asked about disciplining Torres for not sprinting when other players were not similarly punished for similar infractions, the Yankees manager expressed anger.
“Everybody’s going to make judgments about this guy, that guy, and I have an open mind, actually,” Boone said. “A lot of people don’t know the whole picture of everything and what guys are working on, and I think discerning between guys who play hard and guys who don’t is one of those things that’s overrated.”
Judge believes the message was sent to the whole team.
“If you’re not doing your job, you’re going to get taken out,” the slugging outfielder said.
Torres is known for his lack of hustle.
In a Subway Series against the Mets on June 26, Torres couldn’t run over a weak grounder he hit in the eighth inning, but if he had run at full speed it could have been a close game.
After the game, Torres blamed his injury on an aggravated groin injury that had forced him to miss the previous week’s game.
Boone called Torres into his office after the loss and spoke with the 27-year-old.
He was benched for the next few games, but Boone said at the time it was because his performance was below expectations and also because of disciplinary issues.
It’s been a shaky season for Torres, who is set to become a free agent.
He’s batting just .233/.308/.357 with a .667 OPS, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs, a dismal stat line.
He also committed 14 defensive errors, the most of any second baseman.
