Yankees Must Avoid One Specific Reunion at All Costs

The New York Yankees have a hole at second base heading into the MLB offseason, and while Anthony Volpe could technically fill in, the Yankees would surely prefer to find a more reliable option at the position.

The good news is that there will be some very intriguing candidates available in free agency, with Luis Arraez and Brandon Lowe being chief among them.

But there is also player with whom the Yankees are very familiar who will also be up for grabs: Gleyber Torres.

Torres spent the first seven years of his big-league career in New York, and while he certainly had some great moments, the bulk of his Bronx tenure was full of disappointment.

Not only was Torres awful in the field, but his bat took a nose dive following his 38-home run campaign in 2019. He posted an .800 OPS just once afterward, and his inconsistency became a hallmark of his time with the Yankees.

Some have suggested that New York should actually pursue a reunion with Torres this winter, but why would the Yankees want to go back to that well?

Torres absolutely does not fit the mold of what New York needs to get better moving forward. He isn't a contact-oriented hitter, he isn't a good baserunner and he remains a bad defender.

Yes, it was nice to see his walk rate spike with the Detroit Tigers the last couple of years, but for the most part, Torres was largely the same player.

Is he terrible? No. He owns a lifetime .767 OPS, and unlike most other players on the Yankees in recent seasons, he has never been afraid of the bright lights of October.

But New York didn't win with him. Why would it think that simply replacing Jazz Chisholm with Torres at second base would make the team any better?

Again, Arraez and Lowe would be far superior options. Arraez is one of the best contact hitters in baseball, and Lowe might have a chance of hitting 40 homers in Yankee Stadium.

We've already seen what Torres can do. There is no need for a second act.

The Yankees should be focusing on changing their philosophy so they can compete with clubs like the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers; teams that don't solely rely on big swings to win games.

Going out and re-acquiring Torres would not be the way to go about doing that. That would just be a perfect example of running on a hamster wheel.