Gleyber Torres leads MLB second basemen in errors after Yankees fall short to Cubs
New York Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres committed a fielding error in the first inning, which ultimately proved to be quite expensive in the 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Torres believes he should have fielded the ball cleanly to get the final out of the inning. Instead, the Yankees second baseman now leads the MLB for errors in his position.
On Sunday, the Yankees faced the Cubs for the final encounter of their three-game series. Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger was up against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole on the mound in the top of the first inning with two outs and Dansby Swanson as the runner on first base.
Bellinger put his bat on a 0-2 fastball from Cole, which arrived quickly at the second baseman after taking two hops. However, Torres could not grab the ball cleanly as it struck him above the glove on his fielding arm. He collected the rebound with his bare hand and made a quick release to the shortstop, but the throw was not in time as Swanson had reached safely at second base.
The error turned out to be quite costly as Mike Tauchman then forced a 10-pitch walk to load the bases for the home team. Isaac Paredes singled out to center field in the subsequent at-bat to hand his team a two-run lead that turned out to be unassailable for the visiting team.
At the end of the game, Torres spoke to reporters, sharing his perspective on the game-changing error.
“Bellinger hit it pretty well,” Torres said. “I think I had a chance to make that play. Unfortunately, I missed.
"It was a tough play. If I got another opportunity, I'd try to make it."
The Cubs won the game 2-1, but the Yankees had already clinched the series by winning the previous two meetings.
Tough season for Gleyber Torres
Gleyber Torres is in his seventh year with the New York Yankees, but the 2024 campaign has not panned out very well for him so far. Torres has not contributed a great deal offensively this season, and he has been making mistakes quite regularly while playing defense.
Following his latest gaffe this Sunday, Torres recorded his 17th fielding error of the year, which is the highest among all second basemen in the MLB at the moment. Meanwhile, he has batted .247/.326/.362 with just 12 home runs and 94+ OPS despite playing more than 130 games.
Torres signed a one-year, $14.2 million extension for 2024, but he looks unlikely to remain with the Yankees for next season unless he can make a strong finish to the current campaign.