The New York Yankees announced Monday that their top prospect, infielder Gleyber Torres, suffered a torn UCL and will undergo Tommy John surgery.
The injury, which was suffered on Saturday during a triple-A game with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, ends his 2017 season. The Yankees hope that he will be ready for 2018 spring training.
It’s a difficult blow for the Yankees and Torres to take. The shortstop, who was acquired in the deal last season that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, was the second-highest rated prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com and poised to make the jump to the majors this season, possibly as early as July.
Starting the year in double-A, Torres hit .273 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 32 games before he was promoted to triple-A. The 20-year-old continued the strong play despite the improvement of talent that was facing him, hitting .309 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 23 games.
Inconsistencies suffered by Yankees third baseman Chase Headly further stoked the rumors of Torres’ impending promotion to the majors as the veteran is batting just .244 this season.
