As expected, Gleyber Torres rejoined the Yankees’ lineup on Friday following a two-game benching.
The second baseman found himself hitting fifth. Torres had not played since Tuesday, when he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, made his position-leading 12th error and failed to hustle on a soft groundball in a loss to the Mets.
That night, Torres owned up to having a “bad” season thus far. He added that “everything” has been disappointing. The next day, Aaron Boone said that he felt Torres needed a break and that the 27-year-old’s lack of hustle caught the manager’s attention.
Torres, an impending free agent, was hitting .215 with a .627 OPS, a 78 OPS+, seven home runs and 29 RBI before Friday.
On Thursday, Boone and Torres said that the plan was for the infielder to return for Friday’s game against Toronto.
“We had a really good conversation in Queens,” Torres told reporters, per the YES Network. “He proposed giving me a couple days to reset myself.”
Torres added that he did cage and machine work during his benching to “fix a couple things” with his swing.
The Yankees are hoping that Torres can be more productive moving forward, especially on offense. A two-time All-Star, he was one of their most consistent hitters last year.
Meanwhile, the Yankees also have concerns at both corner infield positions. Revamping nearly their entire infield before the trade deadline would be costly — and unrealistic — so they’re counting on Torres returning to form.
Schmidt Resumes Throwing
Clarke Schmidt began playing catch on Monday, according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner. The right-hander went on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain on May 30. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on June 18.
Schmidt, still a long ways away from returning, was working on an All-Star caliber season before getting hurt. The 28-year-old recorded a 2.52 ERA over 60.2 innings and never allowed more than three earned runs in his 11 starts.
Tread Lightly
Like Schmidt, Giancarlo Stanton’s return is not imminent. However, the designated hitter resumed treadmill activities on Thursday, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Stanton went on the 10-day IL on June 23 after suffering a hamstring strain. The Yankees expected Stanton miss four weeks at the time of the injury.
Stanton was enjoying a bounce-back year, hitting .246/.302/.492 with 18 home runs and 45 RBI after revamping his offseason routine in an attempt to stay healthy.