Right-hander Carlos Torres has opted out of his minor league deal with the Braves and is now a free agent, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Earlier today, MLBTR’s Zach Links reported (Twitter links) that Torres’ representatives were already talking to other teams about a new opportunity for the veteran reliever after Atlanta didn’t put Torres on the Opening Day roster.
Torres was a big part of the Mets’ bullpen from 2013-15, posting a 3.59 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 K/BB rate over 241 innings, mostly working as a reliever but also making 10 starts amidst his 165 games with New York. Torres was waived in January and signed on with Atlanta in February.
The 33-year-old received a fair amount of reported interest on the open market, choosing the Braves deal over offers from the Dodgers and Yankees. This is just my speculation, but the Yankees might have room for a bullpen addition in the wake of injuries to Andrew Miller and right-handed swingman Bryan Mitchell. The Dodgers could also be a fit given their own pitching issues, though the injury bug has taken more bites from the L.A. rotation rather than the bullpen.
He’ll be a Yankee by 6pm.