Will Ex-Yankee Gleyber Torres Roar with The Tigers?

Gleyber Torres, who has played for the New York Yankees for his entire 7-year MLB career, has signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Torres, who turned 28 earlier this month, originally signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent during the 2013 season. The Venezuelan born Torres would be traded to the Yankees during the 2016 trade deadline which brought Aroldis Chapman to Wrigley en route to the Cubs' first World Series title in 108 years. 

Torres would make his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2018 and was a sensation finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year balloting behind Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels and then Yankees teammate Miguel Andujar while earning an AL All-Star Team selection. He would be even better in 2019 posting a career best .278 batting average with 38 HR and 90 RBI. 

However, by 2021, Torres began to struggle at the plate hitting .259 with 9 HR and 51 RBI. Torres' numbers did improve in 2022 and 2023. While he hit .257 in 2022, he belted 24 HR with 76 RBI. In 2023, Torres' batting average improved to .273 with 25 HR and 68 RBI. In 2024, Torres took a step back hitting .257 with 15 HR and 63 RBI. 

Torres has alternated between short and second base and isn't particularly good at either position. Worse still, Torres suffers from a lack of hustle and his defensive lapses rendered him out of favor with Yankees management. Torres muffed a throw from Juan Soto during Game 1 of the 2024 World Series which enabled the Dodgers to tie the score to force extra innings and Freddie Freeman did the rest.

Still, Torres has youth on his side and perhaps a fresh coat of paint will do him some good. Torres will be the Tigers everyday second baseman which will move Colt Keith from second to first and a possible one-way ticket to Palookaville for Spencer Torkelson. Nevertheless, the Tigers are proceeding cautiously only committing one year perhaps wary of the lengthy contract given to Javier Baez which is considered by some the worst in all of professional sports. Perhaps the short contract will provide Torres with the incentive to roar with the Tigers.

Torres enters 2025 with 870 career hits in 888 games played for a lifetime batting average of .265 with 138 HR and 441 RBI.