Gleyber Torres

Gleyber David Torres Castro (born December 13, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Torres signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent in 2013 for a $1.7 million signing bonus.

He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Arizona Cubs of the Rookie-level Arizona League.

He was later promoted to the Boise Hawks of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.

In 50 games for the two teams combined, he hit .297/.386/.440 with two home runs.

In 2015, Torres began the season with the South Bend Cubs of the Class A Midwest League, and was promoted to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in September.

In 487 at bats over 126 games for the two teams combined, he hit .287/.346/.376 with three home runs and 64 runs batted in (RBI).

Torres started the 2016 season with Myrtle Beach.

On July 25, 2016, the Cubs traded Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney, and Rashad Crawford to the Yankees for relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

He began his Yankees career playing with the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

He finished the 2016 season batting .270/.354/.421 with 11 home runs and 66 RBI for the two Class A+ teams combined.

After the season, the Yankees assigned him to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League (AFL).

After batting .403 in 76 at bats with a .513 on-base percentage and a 1.158 OPS, Torres was named the AFL Most Valuable Player.

At the age of 19, Torres was the youngest player in the AFL, and the youngest player in history to win the AFL MVP.

He was ranked after the 2016 season as the Yankees' top prospect by Baseball America.

Torres was listed the fifth best prospect in baseball entering the 2017 season by Baseball America.

After hitting .448 in 29 at bats with two home runs in spring training with the Yankees, Torres began the 2017 season with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League.

In April, he went on the seven-day disabled list with rotator cuff inflammation.

The Yankees promoted Torres to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League in May.

In June, Torres slid headfirst into home, despite the fact that the Yankees stress to their players to slide feet-first because the team believes it is safer, and tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his non-throwing left elbow.

On June 19, Torres was ruled out for the rest of the 2017 season after it was determined that his injury required Tommy John surgery.

He finished the 2017 season batting .287/.383/.480 with seven home runs and 34 RBI for the two teams combined.

The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

He made his MLB debut on April 22, 2018.

Torres was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019.

Torres was born and raised in Caracas by his parents, Eusebio Torres and Ibelise Castro.

Intrigued by the name "Qleyber," his father decided to name Torres after it because of its uniqueness.

Torres grew up in a middle-class household.

However, life at home devolved into unrest, with many citizens rebelling against the government in the wake of constant food shortages, rampant crime and widespread violence.

Torres started playing baseball at the age of four as a center fielder, catcher, pitcher, and eventually shortstop.

His passion for baseball grew watching games on TV, while idolizing his favorite player Omar Vizquel.

Torres also played basketball briefly in high school, but he quit the sport on his father's instructions in order to focus on baseball.

Academies began to take notice of Torres's talent and wanted to help him become a professional.

At 14, Torres moved to Maracay to enroll in an academy that had contacts with MLB scouts.

He was sought out by the Chicago Cubs and signed a contract with the team.

Entering the 2018 season, Torres was labeled the fifth-best prospect in baseball and the best shortstop prospect by MLB.com.

During spring training, Torres competed with Miguel Andujar and others for a spot on the opening day roster.

On March 13, 2018, Torres was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the year.

He was pulled out of the game on April 22 after six innings.

Torres initially thought it was punishment for not hustling earlier in the game, but was called into manager Bobby Mitchell's office where he was told of his promotion to the Major Leagues.