Yankees' Brian Cashman explains why he won't trade Gleyber Torres

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke before Friday’s game against the Rays at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

NEW YORK — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is hanging out, minding his own business, enjoying New York City. Maybe he’s with friends. Or maybe he’s taking a quiet stroll at night.

“Cashman, you’re the worst!” someone says. Then a man walks past Cashman. “We hate you!” he says. A baby shoots Cashman a death stare from her stroller.

Fortunately, that’s an alternate universe in which the 50-year-old will never have to live.

That’s because on Friday, before a game against the Rays at Yankee Stadium, he told reporters that there’s zero chance he’d consider trading rookie sensation and fan favorite Gleyber Torres.

“C’mon now,” he said. “I have to walk around this city.”

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The Yankees will target starting pitching as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. Owner Hal Steinbrenner called it a need at the Major League Baseball owners meetings in Manhattan on Wednesday. Steinbrenner added that the team has enough payroll to do it and stay under the $197-million luxury tax threshold.

But Cashman won’t trade the 21-year-old Torres to make it happen.

Which is understandable. Torres has made cases for the All-Star Game, Rookie of the Year and maybe even MVP with the torrid start to his career.

In 45 games, he’s hit 13 home runs with a .295 batting average and 33 RBI. He’s got a .928 OPS.

Cashman said he would estimate he’s talked to about 20 clubs since the June 6 draft about trades. He’s gauged the market, seeing what’s available and who’s interested in what he can offer.

Asked if he’d consider any of the best prospects in his farm system, considered among the top in the league, Cashman said, “We’ll see.” As for prospects in the majors leagues — players such as Torres and likely third baseman Miguel Andujar — Cashman said, “There are some people I don’t want to move.”

Andujar, 23, has been nearly as good as Torres, hitting .303 with eight homers and 28 RBI in 55 games.

But will the Yankees, in fact, add pitching?

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “That’s always been a focus of ours — in the winter, in previous years. So we’re always trying to reinforce that, improve upon it. Time will tell. Meanwhile, it’s great to see what (Domingo) German’s come up and done — a really good job for us. (Masahiro) Tanaka might come back in a timely matter. It’d be nice to be able to improve things at the same time. This team has earned the right to get reinforced here, if we can find a way. But we really like the team we’ve got.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.