So who the hell is Gleyber Torres, and should we be rooting for the Yankees to get him?

The Internet/Twitterverse/lie machine says Gleyber Torres - (yep, Gleyber, who does that to a kid?) - a 19-year-old Cubs' minor league SS, is the supreme bejeweled payoff for giving Theo Epstein the chess piece that can finally bring a World Championship to the Wrigley end of Chicago - courtesy of Hal Steinbrenner's ineptitude.

In the high A Carolina league, the Venezuelan Torres is currently hitting .275 with 9 HRs and 19 stolen bases. He bats RH and would be the second Cubs infielder sent to NY this year because of the young talent overload at the mother ship. This is what happens when teams systematically retool - they end up in first place with prospects to trade. Between now and August 1, let's hope the Yankees deal away more high-contract bloat than merely Aroldis Chapman, the third closer on a team that seldom closes. If you heard Suzyn Waldman's pre-game show yesterday, she practically pitched in the towel on 2016, describing the wisdom behind a trade or two, and asking listeners if they really believe this team is World Series caliber. She doesn't, and I doubt John disagrees. They don't disagree on much.

Obviously, we have no inside source on this deal, and it could be another Hillary email of misinformation - (seriously, Cashman almost never flags a trade before it happens) - but Torres was scratched from yesterday's lineup, a move widely believed as confirming his new destiny.

If it's true, Torres brings to NY a Mel Kiper-esque rankings pedigree: He's listed as the Cubs No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline - and he's No. 24 overall in baseball on that site. This would make him immediately our highest rated prospect. (Jorge Mateo, with his recent attitude adjustment, is ranked 26th, though he ranks first in Yankee hype.)

Torres signed with Chicago at age 16 and has hit about .290 at every level. (His MILB career average is .285.) He bats second, strikes out a bit too often, and - thus far this season - hits righties better than lefties. He's 6'1," which means he could fill out and hit HRs. He's probably three years away. I'm already thinking of 2020, when Didi would move to third. (Mateo has already been moved to 2B, and their other once-high SS hopes - Cito Culver and Kyle Holder, both first-round picks - also are playing other positions, suggesting they've been relegated to future utility roles - ugh.)

Last winter, we gave up two decent prospects for El Chapo (plus two organizational lug nuts). Neither made any Top 100 lists, if that's what floats your boat. I think the rankings are parlor games, but you have to be concerned. For example, Boston has three prospects ranked even higher than Torres - one being Yoan Moncada, Hal's ultimate crime. Yes, these rankings are crapola. But sometimes, when everybody says it's raining, it's raining. .

This still could be the worst Yankee decade in history, the lowest ebb for a once-great franchise. We've quietly ditched Hal's once-strident notion that the Yankees must contend every season. We're facing a team that could easily fall apart and lose 85 games. It's time for the front office to show guts and do what's right. And by that, I mean by trading other pieces, including CC, Tex, Gardner and even the great and mighty Carlos Beltran. Suzyn knows it. Cashman knows it. Everybody knows it. Gleyber Torres? Bring him over. It's time to break glass.