Torres no longer looks like the leading candidate to open the season as the Yankees' primary second baseman after the team agreed to a contract with free agent Neil Walker on Monday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.
Terms of Walker's deal haven't yet been publicized, but it's believed the veteran agreed to a one- or two-year contract and isn't viewed as the Yankees' long-term solution at second base. After slashing .265/.362/.439 across 448 plate appearances with the Mets and Brewers last season, Walker still rates as a serviceable bridge option at the position until the Yankees are comfortable deploying the 21-year-old Torres, the organization's top prospect, in an everyday role in the middle infield. Since Torres had the bulk of his 2017 campaign wiped out by Tommy John surgery, he could probably benefit from logging additional at-bats in the high minors before joining the big club. Expect Torres, who has gone just 3-for-23 at the dish in Grapefruit League play, to report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre once spring camp draws to a close.