No trip to injured list needed for Gleyber

BALTIMORE -- Only the worst could be assumed for Gleyber Torres when Thairo Estrada took a locker and unpacked his equipment in the visitors' clubhouse at Camden Yards on Wednesday afternoon.

But manager Aaron Boone quickly quelled any fears: All tests -- including an MRI -- on Torres came back negative after he exited a game early with core pain for the second time in three days. After specialists in New York did not find anything on tests, Torres is considered day to day without an injured list stint in the forecast.

“Went through a battery of tests today and everything checked out OK,” Boone said. “MRIs, testing again for a sports hernia, any strains, and everything turned out to be negative. Looking at him as day to day. I think he’s upbeat, he feels good, so he’s on his way back now, and he’ll travel with us to Toronto.”

Torres returned to the team during Wednesday’s 14-2 win over the Orioles, surprising his teammates in the dugout with a bright smile. He said after the game that he feels good and is reassured by another good diagnosis.

“Just a little bit sore, but after last night and tonight, I really feel better,” Torres said, adding that he may take one more day to rest before a return but is good enough to go if called upon. “Doctors and everything checked, everything is good to me. Right now I feel better. Ready to play again.”

On the surface, these are the exact same results that came after Torres left Sunday’s win over the Red Sox with core issues for the first time. This time, however, Torres underwent an MRI, but it, too, did not find any cause for concern. Although it is reassuring testing did not turn up anything serious, has it made it more frustrating that there is still no concrete reason for the issue?

“I guess a little bit, sure, but [we're] also encouraged that we don’t think it’s serious, nor does he, for that matter,” Boone said. “I talked to him ... when he was on his way back, and he was like, ‘I’m all right, I feel like I’m going to be fine. I probably just need a day or two.’ We’ll continue to watch it closely and monitor it, but as of right now, we’re optimistic.”

Boone said there will be little to no easing Torres back into the lineup, and he said earlier that Torres' stint as designated hitter on Monday was in the plans regardless of the ailment. When he’s back to full health, he’ll return as a full-time player.

“If we were concerned with it, we would have been proactive with this,” Boone said. “It’s not something we want to risk or anything. We’ll see where we’re at each day. If he’s not better in a couple days and we’re in a situation where we need the extra spot, then we can do something at that point. But as of right now, we are planning on moving forward.”

Torres reported no pain as early as Monday morning, but as was evident with his departure on Tuesday, it may not have been quite as simple as that. It didn’t help that he had gone 0-for-7 with three strikeouts in the series against the Orioles -- a team he usually feasts against.

“I feel like he was letting it go, he wasn’t getting a lot of results,” Boone said. “Whether he was a little uncomfortable or whatever ... Which, obviously, after last night when we took him out after a couple, we felt he was a little bit uncomfortable.”

Torres himself theorized on Monday that his pain was coming from swinging too hard at the plate. He exited on Tuesday only after striking out while lunging for a curveball tailing away. Boone said that he and his staff will take a more concerted approach to managing Torres’ pregame routines.

“That’s something that we’ll dive into and try to be vigilant about, try to really be communicative with him when he’s going through his preparation,” Boone said. “'How are you doing? What are you doing?' -- those kinds of things. That’s been something we’ll be on.”

Estrada, for his part, headed back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with the Yankees feeling comfortable that Torres' mysterious ailment will soon become a non-issue.

“We taxi-squaded him in case there was something that happened with Gleyber or something was found out that we had to IL him,” Boone said. “Thairo was in place to take his place, so we will send Thairo back now with the idea that Gleyber is good to go.”

Breyvic Valera, who took over for Torres on Tuesday, started at second on Wednesday the second time in three games.