Gleyber Torres not yet ready for Yankees, Triple-A manager says

MOOSIC, Pa. -- While there has been persistent media and fan speculation over the New York Yankees' top minor league prospect, Gleyber Torres, soon replacing Chase Headley at third base, Torres' Triple-A manager thinks the young infielder needs more seasoning.

"If you ask me today, if the call comes, he is not ready," Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said Tuesday. "He is headed in the right direction. I like where he is at for a 20-year-old kid to be in Triple-A. He's very mature, but defensively, he needs more work at third and second."

Torres is a natural shortstop, but the Yankees are having him play second and third to increase the ways they could utilize him at the major league level. With shortstop Didi Gregorius and second baseman Starlin Castro having strong first halves to this season, Headley has been targeted as the man Torres could replace.

Headley entered Tuesday night hitting .230 with three homers and 25 RBIs in 56 games. Torres, No. 4 on ESPN's Keith Law's minor league rankings list, went 3-for-4 on Tuesday night and is batting .284 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 19 games since being promoted from Double-A late last month. Torres is on a 12-for-31 (.387) tear.

Pedrique credited Torres for his maturity, which he showed when asked if he is ready for the big leagues now.

"That's a tough question," Torres said. "Everyone wants to play in the big leagues. I think I'm ready."

Sources have said the first-place Yankees like the idea of adding another burst of talented youth at some point this summer.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, the man who will ultimately make the decision, said he would not rule out turning to Torres.

"When a need arises, we will drill down on all legitimate choices," Cashman said.

Torres' time could still come this year, but, at the moment, a move is not imminent.