Tigers Add Veteran Infielder Gleyber Torres
The Detroit Tigers made a somewhat surprising move on Friday morning, signing veteran infielder Gleyber Torres to a one-year, $15m deal. The news was broken by Jon Heyman, in his typically laconic fashion. Jesse Rogers of ESPN added the contract details shortly thereafter:
Free agent Gleyber Torres is in agreement with the Detroit Tigers on a 1-year, $15 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Torres had a great ALCS after a bit of down year on the power side for the Yankees. He’ll start at 2b for Detroit. @JonHeyman was first with the agreement.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) December 27, 2024
Torres was one of the youngest free agents on the market, having turned 28 just two weeks ago. He’s a right-handed hitter who helps balance Detroit’s lefty-heavy lineup, and he owns a career 134 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers. He consistently grades out as a below-average defender and runner, but Torres has been an above-average offensive player in six of his seven big-league seasons.
Scott Harris spoke about the Torres signing in a press briefing Friday afternoon.
“We’re really excited to add Gleyber to our mix,” Harris said. “First of all, he’s a two-time All-Star who, at 28-years-old, is still in his prime. He dominates the strike zone. He has close to 200 plate appearances in the postseason under his belt already…we think there’s more in there, on both sides of the ball.”
In many ways this feels like the position player equivalent of the Jack Flaherty signing last year. At times in his career it appeared Torres was headed for a huge payday. But he had a down year in 2024, and he’ll look to rebuild his value in Detroit.
The Tigers, meanwhile, appear to be buying low on a player with upside. There’s little risk here if things don’t work. And if Torres does turn things around he could be a huge part of a playoff run. They could also trade him at the deadline. It’s not the seismic Alex Bregman deal many fans were hoping for, but it’s a smart signing by Detroit.
Who is Gleyber Torres
A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Torres was one of the best prospects in the 2013 international free agent class. He signed with the Cubs (where Harris was head of baseball operations) for $1.7 million, and he wasted little time living up to his amateur hype. The Cubs skipped him over international rookie ball, and he posted an .826 OPS in 50 games between the domestic rookie-level and short-season A-Ball.
He continued to impress in 2015, making his way to High-A as an 18-year-old. Torres started landing on the top half of prospect lists heading into 2016, and then he began hitting for more power. He was generally considered a top-20 prospect in all of baseball by the middle of the season. And then the Cubs, desperate for their first World Series championship in over 100 years, traded him to the Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman.
Torres continued to perform in 2017, quickly climbing from Double-A to Triple-A. But in June he tore the UCL in his left elbow on a slide into home and missed the rest of the season. He was healthy by 2018 and the Yankees quickly called him up to New York, where the 21-year-old became a fixture in their lineup.
Torres hit .271/.340/.480 with 24 home runs as a rookie, earning an All-Star nod and finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He followed that up with a spectacular sophomore effort. Torres was an All-Star again, splitting time between second base and shortstop, and hitting .278 with 38 home runs.
But then things started to fall apart for him. The 2020 season was a bust for most players, but Torres also scuffled in 2021. He hit .259 with just nine home runs, and he struggled so much at shortstop that the Yankees permanently moved him to second base.
And that seemed to do the trick. Torres bounced back nicely, hitting .257 with 24 home runs in 2022, and .273 with 25 home runs in 2023. He combined for 6+ WAR in those two seasons. Torres seemed to be back on track for a solid free agent payday.
But his power output tanked again in 2024, with only 15 home runs, and a first-half wRC+ of just 88. Torres was significantly better in the second half of 2024, however. He raised his wRC+ to 124 by batting .292 with seven home runs in 61 games. And he followed that up with another solid postseason run.
How Gleyber Torres Fits on the Tigers (2B or not 2B)
Ah, there’s the rub. The Detroit Tigers seem to collect second basemen like Pokémon.
There’s Colt Keith, who joined Torres as a 2024 Silver Slugger finalist at second base. There’s Jace Jung, a top-100 prospect who is a second baseman masquerading as a third baseman. Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibanez both play second base. And Hao-Yu Lee and Kevin McGonigle are top prospects who are likely to play second base, though they aren’t expected to demand MLB time in 2025.
The answer ends up being pretty simple, for now at least. Colt Keith is moving to first base.
“Colt Keith, who we still believe is a very capable second baseman, is gonna move to first base for the 2025 season,” Harris said. “He may move back to second base in the future, but for 2025 our best team has Gleyber at second base and Colt at first base.”
It’s a curious decision. Keith isn’t a great defender at second base, but he graded out better than Torres in both Defensive Runs Saved (-8 to -11) and Outs Above Average (0 to -4). It also puts a great deal of pressure on Keith’s bat. Spencer Torkelson will now be battling for platoon at-bats. And third base remains a question mark.
Gleyber Torres is a solid offensive addition to the Tigers, and he helps address a real need. But it still feels like another move is in the works.
Jayden Hewitt