Didi Gregorius, the New York Yankees starting shortstop, is set to return to action in today’s game against the first-place Baltimore Orioles.
Didi Gregorius’ Return Forces Torreyes Back to the Bench
After missing the first 20 games of the season due to a shoulder strain sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, Gregorius has been cleared for action and will play tonight. In five minor league rehab games, Didi tallied eight hits, including one home run, in nineteen at-bats.
His injury initially piqued the interest of Yankees fans and baseball fans alike as the name Gleyber Torres was floated as his potential replacement, but those rumors were quickly quashed by the Yankees front office. The team decided to go with the less flashy answer, 5’8″ utility man Ronald Torreyes.
The Torreyes Takeover
Torreyes won over fans, and manager Joe Girardi, last season with his hustle and grit. When he was awarded the spot out of Spring Training, he was expected to fill in with his typical great fielding and a decent bat. Surprisingly, he has done much more than that.
Little Ronald Torreyes has been a spark for this team and offered them a player to rally around. Sure, Starlin Castro and Chase Headley have been off to hot starts, but it is the quick, young shortstop who helped to provide this team with an extra offensive punch.
He is fourth on the team in hits, third in RBI, and last in walks (he has none). At the plate this season, he has been aggressive and unrelenting; in the field, he has yet to make an error at shortstop.
Torreyes’ performance will make it easier for Girardi to ease Gregorius into the lineup, while giving him periodic off-days early on.
Last season, his second in New York, Gregorius set a career-high in batting average (.276), home runs (20), and RBI (76). His fielding percentage dipped slightly, but not significantly enough to become a major concern.
It will be interesting to see if Girardi plays Gregorius for the entire weekend, considering the Orioles are slated to pitch lefty Wade Miley on Sunday. Gregorius mustered just one hit in seven at-bats against Miley last season
Additionally, the veteran skipper has made a concerted effort to load the lineup with right-handed bats against lefty starters throughout April. However, Gregorius was able to hit .324 against left-handed pitching last season.
What to do with Toe?
Now that the starting shortstop is back and, barring re-injury, will be playing most days for the rest of the season, what will the team do with the man affectionately dubbed Toe?
Since the aforementioned Castro and Headley are having their best starts to a season as Yankees, it’s unlikely either of them will lose much playing time.
Headley is a switch-hitter who is batting much better against right than left-handed pitching this season, but has hit better against lefties since the 2014 season, when he joined the Yankees mid-year. His .329 average, newfound penchant for swiping the occasional base, and his increased confidence in the field, combined with that statistic, means that Toe likely won’t find himself filling in for Headley all too often.
As for Castro, his average both last season and so far this season are fairly similar against both right and left-handed pitching. When considered along with his relatively slick fielding, it’s also unlikely that Castro will see many days off—especially not while leading the team in hits and ranking second in RBI.
So, what happens to Torreyes? Well, the Yankees are in an odd situation: they have too many good infielders to play them all – disregarding the odd situation developing at first base.
Torreyes will likely see playing time once or twice a week, since Girardi is notorious for his love of resting players. If he continues to play well, it will only be a matter of time until he has played himself out of New York by way of a trade.
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