Gleyber Torres, with free agency looming, wants to ‘be a Yankee for life’
Gleyber Torres doesn’t want to go anywhere.
Torres, heading into the final year of his contract with the New York Yankees, made it very clear where he wants to spend the rest of his career on Wednesday at spring training.
“I don’t want to leave,” the infielder said, via The Associated Press. “I want to be a Yankee for life.”
Torres is entering his seventh season with the Yankees. The two-time All-Star, after going through a bit of a slump midway through his time in Major League Baseball, rebounded last season with a .273 batting average, 25 home runs, 68 RBI and an .800 OPS.
Torres has a .267 career batting average with 123 home runs, 378 RBI and 49 steals over six seasons.
The 27-year-old is on a one-year, $14.2 million deal with the Yankees and is set to be a free agent next offseason. He said he has not had any discussions with the Yankees about a long-term deal.
“I can’t lie. I just think that sometimes maybe that I’m starting my last year here because I don’t know what’s the business plan next year,” Torres said. “But man, it’s just like, motivate myself. Like I always say, we play for another team sometimes, and it’s a business.”
Torres and the Yankees missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016. They went just 82-80, the team's worst record since 1992. The Yankees open the 2024 season March 28 against the Houston Astros.
While he wants to remain with the Yankees, Torres understands the position the team is in. They’ve had a bad stretch lately when it comes to signing players to long-term deals — both Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks struggled and dealt with significant injuries — and don’t want that to repeat with him.
But with that in mind, Torres knows there’s only one sure way to get what he wants: performing on the field.
“We know what’s happened in the past, and I don’t blame them,” he said. “That’s the business. So if I [have] a really good year and put [up] really good numbers, I think we can get a conversation for sure.”
