The New York Yankees need a strong season from second baseman Gleyber Torres if they want to have a chance to win the 2022 World Series.
Because of their relative lack of activity during the offseason, the Yankees need best-case scenarios all around their roster to maximize their chances.
That, of course, includes Torres, who slashed just .259/.331/.366 with just nine home runs in 516 plate appearances.
In fact, Torres has been struggling since 2020, when he hit .243/.356/.368 in the pandemic season.
This time, however, Torres seems to be ready for a strong, bounce-back season.
“Gleyber Torres home run off Eduardo Rodriguez on the first pitch of the game!,” Talkin’ Yanks tweeted on Monday afternoon.
Gleyber Torres home run off Eduardo Rodriguez on the first pitch of the game! pic.twitter.com/wZL0s5pPJQ
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 28, 2022
Gleyber Needs To Be More Aggressive And Hit The Ball With Authority
Being aggressive is actually one of the things on Gleyber’s to-do list for the 2022 campaign: he got a lot of walks and his plate discipline is improved, but his power has all but evaporated in the last two years.
Jumping to first pitches, like he did against E-Rod in this spring training game, will be crucial for him.
Gleyber has an analytics-driven hitting coach now in Dillon Lawson, as opposed to the outgoing Marcus Thames.
Lawson’s biggest challenge in his rookie season as an MLB hitting coach is perhaps getting Torres back on track.
If he can regain at least most of the power that made him a 38-homer hitter in 2019, the Yankees will probably be satisfied.
Now that he won’t have the stress of playing a position clearly not suited for him (shortstop), he could relax and let his talent speak for himself.
The player has been working hard during the offseason, and he is entering a make-or-break campaign to keep himself in the Yankees’ future plans.
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