00:00We're just under four weeks away from the trade deadline, so it's time to really start diving into what the
00:04Yankees might do by August 3rd at 6 p.m.
00:07One of the positions that is clearly an issue for the Yankees, as said by Brian Cashman on Thursday, and
00:13needs to be addressed is catcher.
00:15Yankees catchers have been terrible at the plate this season.
00:19They are second worst in average and on base, and last in slugging and OPS.
00:24The name that we've all heard the most that would be a good fit is Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers.
00:29Jeffers was having a good year before going on the I.L. with a handmaid injury on May 18th,
00:34and is starting to work his way back, beginning his rehab assignment on July 3rd.
00:38He's a free agent at the end of the year, so he would only be a rental.
00:42But what if Cashman isn't able to land him? Who else could they target?
00:46I don't think the Yankees would have to look too far to find a quality option B.
00:50They just have to take the 7 train over to Flushing, and there they'll find Luis Terrenz.
00:55Even our guy John Heyman thinks he can make sense in pinstripes.
00:59Maybe they will emphasize catcher. I mean, we've mentioned Jeffers on here many times.
01:04I do think that's the great fit for them. You know, and the Mets are going to sell.
01:09I think the Twins are a game and a half out of a playoff spot.
01:12I know, I know. So maybe they need to go back and get Torrens if they can get him.
01:18That's who I would go get rather than Alvarez.
01:21Yankees' interests would start with the familiarity they have with Torrens.
01:24Torrens started his career in 2012 when the Yankees signed him as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela
01:30before losing him in the 2016 Rule 5 draft.
01:34After bouncing around six different organizations, the Yankees signed him in 2024 to a minor league deal.
01:40He played 30 games in AAA Scranton before trading him to the Mets for $100,000.
01:46Since then, he's been a steady backup in Queens.
01:49I mentioned the familiarity being important because I've heard our guy Joel Sherman tell the story on Pinchstripe Post and
01:55the show.
01:55After Brian Cashman traded for Pudge Rodriguez in 2008, he said he would never trade for a catcher midseason again
02:02because it's too hard to integrate a catcher.
02:05They have to learn all the pitchers and their individual game plans, which is even harder in today's game.
02:10Torrens shortens that gap since he's been in the organization a couple times, just like you hear with Jeffers
02:15because of his time with the Yankees' catching instructor Tanner Swanson, who was with the Twins in 2017-2019.
02:22One step further with Torrens' familiarity with the Yankees, he actually caught five Will Warren starts in 2024 while teammates
02:29in Scranton.
02:30Churro's numbers at the plate, yes, that is his nickname according to baseball reference, may not pop off the page,
02:36but compared to what the Yankees are running out behind the plate every night, it would certainly be an upgrade.
02:42One thing with the bat he does especially well is hitting in high leverage.
02:47If you talk to Mets fans, they will tell you that the guy is clutch, and the numbers back that
02:52up.
02:53In those high leverage situations, Torrens has a .320 batting average.
02:57They'd be third on the Yankees, only Goldie and Spencer Jones have been better.
03:02His eight hits in high leverage would be sixth most on the Yankees, one more than Aaron Judge.
03:07All in 25 at-bats, which would be tenth most.
03:11The defense is really what he would be adding to the team.
03:14He's one of the best defensive catchers in the game.
03:17Torrens is 8-for-21 throwing runners out, which is 38%, and puts him fifth among 74 qualified catchers.
03:24And just to compare to what the Yankees have been running out, Austin Wells is 3-for-21, so 14%,
03:31which puts him at 59th out of qualified catchers.
03:34He's also in the 95th percentile framing, 89th percentile pop time, and 71st percentile blocking.
03:42All of those are better than any of the three catchers the Yankees have deployed this season.
03:47Luis Torrens would be a pretty good consolation if the Yankees aren't able to win the Ryan Jeffers sweepstakes.
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