A New York sports insider drops NSFW criticism on Yankees’ Gleyber Torres

The New York Post’s Joel Sherman was particularly fiery (and sharp) in the aftermath of the 2023 Yankees disaster. After all, he was the one who did much of the admonition that led to Brian Cashman’s “pretty good” GM Meetings- rant.

And if you thought a hot start would stop his valid criticism, you don’t know Sherman. The Yankees have put themselves in a solid position. They’ve picked up some wins against some high-caliber opponents, as well as the Astros, who are somehow 6-14. But some cracks remain, the most significant of which are Gleyber Torres’ poor offense and freelance defense.

The Yankees’ infield defense may have saved the day and made Aaron Boone look smart in Toronto on Wednesday, but Torres still hasn’t arrived and been a big part of the action (though his single helped spark a ninth-inning rally to hold in the Jays finals as well).

Anthony Rizzo may be the most glaring flaw yet, but there certainly seems to be an obvious driving factor in his unsteadiness. The concussion he suffered last season robbed him of his ability to react at the plate. Why would not playing for two months last summer continue to affect both his glove and his confidence?

Sherman questioned Rizzo’s decline in his most recent rant, but he focused most of his anger on Torres, who should be better than this – and more careful.

“The play against Cleveland into the infield doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the play he threw out in double play the day before,” Sherman began, “because that falls into what I’ve called – annually – ‘Gleyber Torres fantasy camp.’ “

“I’m not against style,” Sherman continued. “The ball’s going out of the stadium, you wanna turn a bat, do ten cartwheels, crawl around the bases, I don’t care***. Do whatever you want. But when the ball’s in play… and you wants to do style…the style works better.”

The infield in the game that directly led to Sunday’s loss in extras? He moved quickly and made a mistake. It was awkward. It was painful. But it was in the flow of the action. Saturday’s sidearm throw, which could have undone a lot of hard work and made the three-game losing streak that started Sunday look even worse? Less forgivable.

Sherman has made this assessment, and there’s no doubt the Yankees will harbor similar thoughts about the player Torres is and always will be when the time comes to evaluate him in free agency.