Yankees add top prospect Torres to 40-man

The Yankees added six players to their 40-man roster in advance of Monday's 8 p.m. ET deadline to protect players from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. It completes a busy day of roster moves for the club that also included a pair of Minor League trades earlier in the day to clear space on the roster.
The list of players added is headlined by infielder Gleyber Torres, ranked as the Majors' No. 1 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, infielder Thairo Estrada, outfielder Billy McKinney and right-handers Albert Abreu, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo Acevedo.

The Yankees started the day by trading right-hander Ronald Herrera to the Rangers for Minor League left-hander Reiver Sanmartin. Then they traded infielder Garrett Cooper and left-hander Caleb Smith to the Marlins for right-hander Michael King and 2017-18 international signing bonus pool money. That also marks Miami's first trade under new owner Derek Jeter.
Those trades also cleared enough room on the 40-man roster for the Yankees to make the necessary number of additions.
Torres is still recovering from Tommy John surgery in June, but he figures to make an impact in the Bronx sooner rather than later when he gets healthy. He was the Arizona Fall League MVP in 2016 and was hitting .287 with seven home runs, 34 RBIs and seven stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A in '17 before the injury. Torres, 20, also has the versatility to play shortstop, third base and second base.

Acevedo and Abreu are the club's No. 6 and 7 ranked prospects, respectively, although Acevedo is likely closer to the Majors after pitching in Triple-A last season and ranking second in the organization in strikeouts. Abreu spent the year in Class A and the Gulf Coast League before performing well in six starts in the Arizona Fall League. Estrada is the club's No. 17 prospect, while McKinney is No. 23. Although Loaisiga is not ranked, he owns a 2.43 ERA in parts of three Minor League seasons.