KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Gleyber Torres seemed to have taken his benching the right way.
Benched the night before for a perceived lack of hustle, the Yankees' top prospect homered Thursday afternoon in Double-A Trenton's 9-2 victory over New Hampshire.
Trenton manager Bobby Mitchell benched the 20-year-old Wednesday night when Torres, who has seen time at shortstop, second base and third base, thought a ball he hit toward left was foul and, thus, took his time out of the batter's box. The ball landed fair.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said by phone Thursday he felt Mitchell reacted "appropriately," but didn't condemn Torres, for whom hustle has not been seen as an issue in his young career.
"If you watch the video, it's easy to be convinced he (Torres) had no idea where the ball was off the bat," Cashman said. "What Bobby did was appropriate, but Gleyber's reaction made sense when you look at it. It's really not a big deal."
Torres has rebounded after a slow start, hitting .282/.363/.491 with four homers, tied for team-best, and 14 RBIs. Several opposing team scouts who cover the Yankees' organization backed up what Cashman said _ hustle has not been a problem for the prospect.
"I've said before he's the total package," one scout said. "That includes that kind of stuff."
Still, Cashman reiterated, he supported Mitchell's response sight unseen.
"I'm very happy we employ people who, regardless of who the player is (stature-wise), are sending the right message," Cashman said. "Our managers have full discretion when they think any sort of discipline is required."
