Gleyber Torres and the Yankees have settled on a contract to avoid arbitration.
It still remains to be seen whether the two will still be together by Opening Day.
Torres and the Yankees agreed to a $9.95 million contract for 2023, The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed Sunday.
The 26-year-old second baseman, who is in his second-to-last year of team control before hitting free agency, had asked for $10.2 million while the Yankees countered at $9.7 million. Torres earned $6.25 million last season, when he hit .257 with 24 home runs and a 114 OPS-plus (100 being league average).
The one-year deal takes care of the Yankees’ last remaining arbitration case, two weeks away from spring training, meaning the team still has not gone to an arbitration hearing with a player since Dellin Betances in 2017.
Even with his contract settled, Torres is still a possible trade candidate this spring with the Yankees having infield depth if everybody stays healthy. DJ LeMahieu missed the end of last season with a fractured foot, but is said to look healthy after resting it this offseason and could see plenty of time at second base, especially if veteran Josh Donaldson — who is more difficult to trade with $27 million left on his contract — is able to put together a bounce-back year at third base.
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The Yankees also have Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe set to battle for the starting shortstop job in spring training. Unless he wins the job, Volpe is likely to start the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but Peraza and utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera could also see time at second base if needed.
Torres’ name was included in talks ahead of last August’s trade deadline. The Post’s Jon Heyman previously reported that the Yankees and Marlins came “somewhat close” on a trade that would have sent Torres in exchange for right-hander Pablo Lopez, though the Yankees walked away because Miami also wanted Peraza (the Marlins would have sent shortstop Miguel Rojas to The Bronx, too).
That ship has since sailed, with Lopez dealt to the Twins this month (along with two prospects for Luis Arraez, the reigning AL batting champ) and Rojas going to the Dodgers in a separate trade.
The Mariners were also once seen as a potential landing spot for Torres at the beginning of the offseason, but they have since filled their second base void by trading for Kolten Wong from the Brewers.
Of course, the Yankees could also choose to hang onto Torres and hope he is able to build off the high points of his inconsistent 2022. Torres rediscovered his power last season — doubling his total home run count from 2020-2021 combined — but went cold for much of the second half, including batting .168 with a .464 OPS during a 34-game stretch from July 30-Sept. 9. He finished the regular season batting .391 with a 1.137 OPS across his final 17 games.
Torres was then one of the many Yankees to struggle in the postseason, batting .176 with no home runs and a .420 OPS.
With Torres’ 2023 salary now official, the Yankees’ projected luxury-tax payroll stands at roughly $288.5 million, per Cots Contracts, just shy of the top threshold of $293 million.