NEW YORK — Gleyber Torres’ frustrating season hit another snag Friday night when manager Aaron Boone benched him in the third inning for his lack of energy in the New York Yankees’ 8-5 series-clinching loss to the last-place Toronto Blue Jays.
Torres started the move with a blunder in the second inning. Thinking he had hit a home run, Torres stepped out of the batter’s box admiring the swing of his bat at 110.7 mph. But the ball bounced off the left-field wall. By the time he realized he had made a mistake, it was too late. What could have been a one-out double turned out to be a single.
Two batters later, the blunder cost the Yankees a run when Torres, trying to score from first base, was thrown out several feet on an Anthony Volpe double to left field. An inning later, Boone, who always loathes benching players in the middle of a game because of a lack of energy, elected to bench the second baseman, who pleaded his case in the dugout to no avail.
After the game, Torres said he was surprised by Boone’s trade, but added the manager made “the right decision.”
“I have to improve,” Torres said. “And I’m really sorry for what I did tonight, especially for the fans and also for my teammates. I’m a human being. I made a mistake and I feel like what I did tonight is going to teach me a lot. And I just want to compete with my teammates and play well. And give 100 percent for my team.”
Torres was not benched immediately; Boone played him on defense in the top of the third inning before pulling him. After the game, Boone said he chose to wait a half-inning to give Oswaldo Cabrera, Torres’ replacement, time to warm up.
“I just felt like I had to bench him there,” Boone said. “I’m not going to make too many judgments about that game. I just felt like at that point I had to do it. That’s it, that’s it. It’s over. You’ve got to move on. He and I talked and hopefully it’s a big learning moment for all of us.”
Yankees captain Aaron Judge said he also had a conversation with Torres after he was benched, but he declined to divulge details. He said Boone’s decision sent a message to the locker room.
“Yeah, for sure,” said Judge, who hit his 40th home run of the season with a 477-foot shot in the first inning. “If you don’t do your job, you’re going to be out. He made that clear to us and he made that clear to him. If I know Gleyber, something like that won’t happen again.”
Judge stressed that Torres’ decision to reappear in the locker room to join the team as it tries to mount a comeback to extend its five-game winning streak was important to him and his other teammates.
“A great moment,” Judge said. “He could have hidden. He could have, after the game, taken a shower, walked out of here and said see you at 10 o’clock tomorrow. But he came back. He was there. He was cheering. He was high-fiving guys. He’s part of this team, he’s a big part of this team.”
Amidst Torres’ disappointing season is the belief that he likely won’t be with the team beyond 2024. As an impending free agent, Torres entered the season knowing that a breakout performance over the course of the year would earn him a sizable multi-year contract over the winter, perhaps with the Yankees.
Instead, despite much improved production since Boone benched him “to reset a little bit” in late June, he is having the worst season of his career. Torres, in his seventh season, posted what would be career lows in batting average (.233), on-base percentage (.308) and slugging percentage (.359). He committed 14 errors, four more than any other second baseman in the major leagues.
“It’s tough, but things are going to change,” Judge said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s going to continue to play and do his job. And his teammates are going to continue to support him.”
Boone said Torres will be back in the Yankees’ lineup Saturday afternoon with a chance to turn the page.
“As a professional, you have to do the right thing and always run,” Torres said. “Do the right thing. There’s no excuses, no talking. I’ve been in the league a long time now. I have to be more mature in this situation and just play hard.”
