TAMPA — Gleyber Torres’ slim hopes of making the Opening Day roster for the Yankees vanished Tuesday, when he was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following a 2-2 tie against the Tigers.
Torres went 1-for-2 with a walk at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday and is 4-for-25 in 11 games this spring.
“There’s no cause for concern,’’ general manager Brian Cashman said. “It’s the time of the camp when we need to start whittling down players and he was struggling at the plate and wasn’t going to win the competition. He needs to get at-bats.”
Torres is coming off Tommy John surgery to his left elbow last season and the Yankees kept him out of winter ball. Torres’ return to the field has been bumpy, as he has struggled at the plate after wowing the Yankees a year ago during spring training and moving quickly from Double-A Trenton to SWB.
“The first at-bats [of the spring], I [didn’t] feel comfortable,’’ Torres said. “I’ll stay in my approach and play my game. … It’s not easy to miss nine months of games and come back perfect. You’re human. I’ll do my job and wait for another opportunity.”
He had been considered a favorite to win the starting second-base job following Starlin Castro’s trade to Miami in the deal that brought Giancarlo Stanton to The Bronx, but with his sluggish start to spring and the Yankees signing of Neil Walker on Monday, Torres’ hopes had dimmed. Tyler Wade had also outplayed Torres.
Walker, who worked out on the back fields on Tuesday in his first full day as a Yankee, will get more work in at the team’s minor league complex on Wednesday and should be in a Grapefruit League game by the end of the week.
While Cashman and Aaron Boone indicated Walker would be able to play three infield positions, he seems to be lined up to be the regular second baseman.
“Gleyber is only 21,” Cashman said. “He had a great camp last year, but his season ended in June and he hadn’t played since.”
Cashman wouldn’t say this was a step back for the team’s top prospect.
“The journey continues,” Cashman said. “A couple of years ago, Gary Sanchez came to camp with a chance to win the backup catcher job, but Austin Romine did better. We saw Sanchez a few months later and all saw what he did. You can’t always predict what’s gonna happen. We still expect [Torres] to perform at a high level and he could get his chance this year.”