Yankees’ Gleyber Torres to undergo Tommy John surgery

Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres will require Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season, according to a club announcement. The team expects Torres to be fully recovered by the beginning of spring training.

Torres, 20, was expected to join the Yankees major-league club as a third baseman for the stretch run after hitting .287/.383/.480 with seven homers in 55 games split between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. A natural shortstop, Torres recently started playing third and was seen as the likely replacement for the struggling Chase Headley.

The loss of Torres is obviously a devastating one for the Yanks, who will now have to assess trade options at the hot corner throughout the next six weeks. Torres, now ranked the no. 2 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com, was thought to be on the brink of being promoted before the injury.

Torres was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman from the Cubs to the Yankees last summer and is regarded as one of baseball’s cant-miss prospects. He owns a career .282/.360/.416 line in four minor-league seasons.