NEW YORK -- Gleyber Torres may soon be on his way to The Bronx, but for the moment, the Yankees' top prospect is remaining with his teammates at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Torres was removed after two at-bats in Monday's game at Gwinnett, prompting speculation of a possible promotion for the standout infielder. General manager Brian Cashman told reporters that Torres was removed from the game for precautionary reasons, having reported back stiffness on a 48-degree evening.
Earlier in the day, the 21-year-old Torres was named the International League Player of the Week, having hit .385 (15-for-39) with a homer and 10 RBIs, appearing in 10 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Torres' 22 total bases were tied for second in the league, while his 10 RBIs ranked second.
Torres is rated as the No. 5 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
If the Yankees wait until Wednesday to promote Torres, he would have spent 20 days in the Minors (they are off on Wednesday, and host the Blue Jays on Thursday). As a member of the 40-man roster, that would delay Torres' free agency an additional year until the offseason of 2024-25, crediting the Yankees with seven years of control rather than six.
Anything less than 20 days in the Minors would not count as an optional assignment, which would credit the player with retroactive service time. Regardless, general manager Brian Cashman has repeatedly stated that the service time consideration is "not part of my evaluation process."
"We're trying to win games," Cashman said. "Every win for us is valuable."