Yankees rumors: New York has reached out to reliever Carlos Torres

The Yankees are continuing to monitor the dumpster for players being designated for assignment as spring training draws closer. This time, the team has reportedly reached out to former Mets reliever Carlos Torres after he elected free agency following his DFA earlier this week. Whether or not that reported interest amounts to anything remains to be seen.

Torres struggled in 2015 with an ERA that hovered near 5 after pitching quite well in 2014. His strikeout numbers remained consistent through his struggles, which might give a team reason to believe he can bounce back from the disappointing returns of last season. NJ.com states that 20 teams have expressed interest in bringing Torres on board to this point.

Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Dellin Betances have the late innings of games locked down, but the team lost two dependable relievers who could take care of earlier inning work in Adam Warren and Justin Wilson this offseason. Ivan Nova is set to start the season as the long reliever, though that doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence with his track record of inconsistency. One thing the Yankees do have is a large number of relief prospects they can plug into open spots. Nick Goody, Nick Rumbelow, Jacob Lindgren, James Pazos, and Tyler Webb are all major league-ready relievers who figure to see time in the Bronx this season. Unfortunately, their results in 2015 weren't always great. That might prompt the team to find a reliever with a stronger track record to rely upon going forward.

New York still hasn't signed a free agent to a big league deal this winter, but it would probably take one to land Torres with multiple teams being interested. There isn't a whole lot to lose in seeing if he can return to his 2014 form.