Yanks happy to hand Gleyber shortstop torch

SAN DIEGO -- Five years ago, the Yankees witnessed a shortstop transition that exceeded all reasonable expectations, hitting a jackpot as Didi Gregorius filled the hole left by Derek Jeter's retirement. They believe Gleyber Torres can enjoy similar success in the years to come.

With Gregorius set to rejoin former manager Joe Girardi after reportedly agreeing to a one-year, $14 million deal with the Phillies on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he could see the 23-year-old Torres taking over as the club's everyday shortstop in 2020.

"We saw him last year play the position at a really high level, especially the first half of the season," Boone said. "We're lucky that with Gleyber, wherever the winter goes and guys end up, we feel like we can plug him at short and at second [base] and know we're going to get a great, great player."

Torres served as the regular shortstop early in 2019 while Gregorius recovered from Tommy John surgery, making 73 of his 142 starts at the position.

An offensive force who hit .278 with 38 homers and 90 RBIs, Torres committed 11 errors in 659 2/3 innings at shortstop (.961 fielding percentage) and produced a 3.70 range factor per nine innings, defensive numbers that were slightly below league average.

"I feel like last year he made big strides defensively at second base and [during] the time he played at shortstop," Boone said. "I know he won't be satisfied, so absolutely we expect that he can continue to improve on what he's already done."

While the Yankees could look to upgrade their shortstop depth from outside the organization, a high-profile move such as a trade for the Indians' Francisco Lindor is considered unlikely. General manager Brian Cashman said that he considers Thairo Estrada to be the club's other in-house candidates.

"We have a lot of flexibility because of the choices that we currently possess," Cashman said. "Those choices aren't limited just to the in-house options, it could be outside the franchise with trades or free agency. We're ready to plug and play if we were starting the season today."

With the club's focus on free-agent right-hander Gerrit Cole, any efforts to retain Gregorius seemed to be in a holding pattern. Such has been the case with additional free agents like Dellin Betances.

Gregorius was disappointed in his offensive output this past season, batting .238/.276/.441 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 82 regular-season games after returning from the injured list in June, but the shortstop produced a .759 OPS and 101 OPS+ over his five years in New York.

"Didi has been a great player for us," Boone said. "He's a great person. I followed his career because he came up with Cincinnati and then was out in Arizona, so I was familiar with him. To come in and replace Derek the way he did, he's had a great career to this point. Wherever he ends up, teams are lucky to have him because he's a really good player."