Trade Of New York Yankees Infielder "Remains on the Table"

The New York Yankees have plenty of things to work out going into 2024. Not the least of which is what to do about their crowded infield. Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner seems determined to go with top prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza as the team's future in the middle infield, which means Volpe should retain his starting shortstop role while Peraza will play... Where, exactly?

According to Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch of mlb.com, "this might be the time" to finally move incumbent second baseman Gleyber Torres in a trade. 

The Yankees could conceivably bring Peraza into camp as a rover at second base, third base or shortstop, though a Torres trade remains on the table. Torres is arbitration eligible and would be looking at a raise over the $9.95 million he earned this past year.

Torres had another nice year offensively, swatting 25 homers with 68 RBIs and an .800 OPS.  He was nearly traded at the 2022 trade deadline to the Miami Marlins for starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, but the Yankees balked when the Fish wanted Peraza as well. 

There's still no interest in the Bronx for trading Peraza, though he struggled in his 52 games in the majors this season, batting just .191 with an OPS+ of 49 (51% worse than the average hitter). But he's just 23, as has been one of the team's top prospects for some time now. At AAA this year, he hit 14 HR with 36 RBIs in 53 games, with an OPS of .836.

The veteran DJ LeMahieu is still around as well, though at the age of 35, he's slowed considerably the past couple of years. He'll likely still see some time at first, second and third base. With Peraza possibly ready to take the job at second full-time, a Torres trade could fill another much-needed hole. 

For now, as Hoch concludes, "File this one under ‘to be determined.’" 

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