Yankees' Gleyber Torres Plans to Return From Wrist Injury on Thursday in Houston
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NEW YORK — Gleyber Torres' ankle sprain is no longer an issue. The second baseman was bouncing around the infield dirt on Tuesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, taking ground balls during batting practice.
That doesn't mean he's ready to return to the starting lineup, though.
Torres is still working back from right wrist inflammation, an injury he's been managing for several weeks. He was administered a cortisone shot on Monday and as much as he'd love to play on Wednesday—in the series finale against the A's—he's targeting Thursday's game in Houston for his return.
"I feel like last night it was pretty sore, which is normal from the needle," Torres said Tuesday afternoon. "But I'm working early, feel good right now with the wrist."
Torres explained that he's been treating his wrist behind the scenes for much of this month. With big series against the Rays, Blue Jays, Astros and more on the schedule, he wanted to stay on the field, playing through the pain.
Eventually, as the soreness got worse, Torres and the Yankees settled on a cortisone shot, wanting to make sure this didn't turn into more of a significant injury.
"I feel it every swing," Torres said. "Just tried to work on that, not put too much concentration on the pain. The last couple days, getting pretty sore, I didn't want to put too much pressure and maybe get a worse injury. I just preferred to get shot early and get better for the rest of the season."
Torres injured his ankle while taking his lead at third base in the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon. Turning to scamper back to the third-base bag, Torres' ankle twisted beneath him, allowing Houston's catcher to pick him off with ease. He hasn't played since then and won't be available on Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old couldn't pinpoint one specific moment when he hurt his wrist, but he presumed the discomfort began from "one bad move" or one particularly hard swing.
Evidently it wasn't enough to impact his performance at the beginning of this month. Torres was swinging a hot bat, raising his batting average to .267 on the year during New York's last road trip (in Toronto and Tampa Bay). Since then, however, he's 1-for-18.
"I do therapy almost every day, working on my wrist and things like that," he said. "The beginning was really good, but after a couple weeks it was getting worse."
Torres is hitting .250/.302/.487 with 13 home runs in 67 games this season. The second baseman is second on the team with 2.7 bWAR and he's played quality defense after making the move from shortstop to second base. Torres and Boston's Trevor Story are tied for the most defensive runs saved among second basemen (with plus-8 DRS entering play on Tuesday night).
Asked if there's any chance Torres can play on Wednesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he'll circle back with Torres and the training staff after Tuesday's game. It's possible, but Thursday remains the most realistic return date.
"We'll see where we're at in the morning," Boone said. "I would expect for sure in Houston on Thursday."
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