Second baseman Gleyber Torres saw his first foray into free agency come to a close yesterday when he landed a one-year, $15MM contract with the Tigers. According to a report from Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, however, Torres had multi-year offers on the table that he turned down in favor of signing with Detroit. McCosky goes on to note that Torres highlighted the Nationals and Angels as teams who made offers to him before he signed with the Tigers, while the incumbent Yankees did not make him an offer.
“I’ve got great friends there, great communication with the entire organization,” Torres said of his longtime club. “I feel proud of myself for being with the Yankees for seven years, but now I’m with Detroit and just really happy they gave me the opportunity to play next year. I think they have other priorities and I’m not on the list. I’m good.”
It’s not necessarily a major shock that the Yankees opted not to make an attempt to bring back Torres. The 28-year-old joined the club prior to his MLB debut as part of the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs at the 2016 trade deadline and debuted with the club back in 2018. After back-to-back All-Star seasons in 2018 and ’19, Torres’s production took a step backwards. He’s slashed just .261/.332/.411 (109 wRC+) while playing average to below average defense at second base. It’s solid enough production for a big league regular but a far cry from the numbers the Yankees surely hoped they were getting when their consensus top-5 prospect in baseball posted a 123 wRC+ in the first two seasons of his big league career.
Torres actually began to look something more like his early-career self in 2023, when he slashed a strong .273/.347/.453 (120 wRC+) and put up 3.6 fWAR. Unfortunately, though, he followed that up with a lackluster 2024 season that saw his wRC+ drop down to just 104, the second-lowest figure of his career. That weak overall number is thanks in large part to a slow start to the season, as Torres hit just .215/.289/.248 in his first 32 games of the season. From May 2 onward, however, he slashed a much more respectable .268/.341/.412 (115 wRC+), including an excellent .292/.361/.419 (124 wRC+) after the All-Star break.
That strong finish wasn’t enough to save his role with the Yankees, however, as the club had already traded for Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the trade deadline over the summer. While Chisholm shifted to third base in deference to Torres down the stretch, the Yankees have eyed potential third base additions such as Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado rather than a reunion with Torres as they consider moving Chisholm back to his natural position. Even so, Torres’s excellent numbers late in the season grabbed the attention of a few clubs aside from the Tigers, with Torres himself highlighting the Nationals and Angels as teams who showed interest in him this winter.
Both clubs were previously reported to have interest in Torres this winter, so it’s hardly a shock that either club made him an offer. With that being said, Torres’s ability to remain at his natural position of second base with the Tigers may have made them a more attractive option than either D.C. or Anaheim. The Nationals were explicitly interested in Torres as a third baseman given the presence of Luis García Jr. at the keystone, while the Angels currently have Luis Rengifo penciled in as their everyday second baseman. It’s unclear whether Angels brass were hoping to move Torres to third base as well or if they’d have instead had Rengifo take up the super-utility role he’s handled often throughout his career, but the Tigers moving Colt Keith to first base in deference to Torres surely made it easy for the 28-year-old to feel comfortable that he would be able to put his best foot forward with the club this year before returning to free agency next winter.
With Torres now off the board, the Angels and Nationals will have to look elsewhere if they hope to upgrade their infield mix this winter. Washington already landed first baseman Nathaniel Lowe in trade with the Rangers earlier this week but could also stand to make an upgrade at the hot corner. The Angels, meanwhile, have been connected to several third base options ranging from known trade candidates like Nolan Arenado and Alec Bohm to more surprising options like Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Aside from those trade market possibilities, the third base market in free agency is led by Bregman but also includes lower-tier options like Yoan Moncada and Josh Rojas.
I would takes Torres over Chisholm any day.
Shocking
your joking right?
I gave up on Gleyber a few years ago.
You mean Mr.Hustle?
I was being sarcastic
Sarcastic. Is that like rain, on your wedding day?
Isn’t it sarcastic… Don’t you think?
Like the good advice you didn’t take.
No, that’s ironic
Like a black fly in your chardonnay?
The right choice for both player and team. He needed a fresh start, away from the expectations. Maybe if he hadn’t had such a terrific start to his career, Yankees fans (like me) wouldn’t have expected so much.
As a Yankees fan I’ll tell you it’s not the production expectations that soured us on him. It was years of him swinging for the fences and failing. Terrible base running and lack luster defense and stupid plays.
Sure our expectations were high after the first two years but that is not the reason we want him gone.
Gleyber became the guy you lived by and died by. He could go 3/4 one game and make a few nice plays, then 0/5 with mental errors in the field the next, and he had TOOTBLAN’s all over the place. I think he led the league in being thrown out at home or something.
Nice guy, very talented, has attention issues. Surprised the Yankees didn’t resign him for 3 years 30 million. I always felt his positives outweighed his negatives.
I just don’t see how this player is worth $15m annually. Average defender & average bat at a basic position. Does that get you $15m these days?
Check his second half stats last year when they moved him into the leadoff spot and the 20+ homers he hit the two years prior. I think he’ll look pretty good near the top of the Tigers order.
This is fools gold. This is like trying to find the good in Matt Patricia’s coaching. “Well he was a great coach during the two minute drill in games down by 20 plus.”
Pretty sure you are not talking about baseball right now. You know this is a baseball sight right?
Read this too fast and thought you said like finding gold in Patricia’s clothing
Dang it Patricia get it together.
Yes, it does as Torres has a high floor and high-ish ceiling which he’s been unable to replicate. If out of contention and he’s performing well, the Tigers can trade him for value or keep him until the season’s end and Q.O. to net them a draft pick.
@Khal
Yes and the fact that he was the best 2b on the market should speak volumes. He was expected to get a bigger contract too.
No surprise there. I don’t think anyone actually believed there was a chance of Torres coming back
The mental mistakes were too many. At times Gleyber required little league level coaching. Good player and good for both sides to move on.
Did he bring some Goldilocks baseballs with him?
This is why the Tigers continue to struggle. 15 million to a guy worth 5.
It’s probably a slight overpay but it’s only a one year commitment. He has been a 15MM a year player at times in his career and I agree with others that a change of scenery was probably best for him and can see him having a solid season in Detroit.
How so? Look at his stats from the last 3 years. How is he not an upgrade? Gets on base, 20 HR power, nice fit near the top of the order and a one year deal doesn’t block anyone like Jung for next year.
I think it was probably the right move for both the team and the player.
On most leader boards that track”Quality starts ” Burnes ranked top 5. However, they didn’t specify what a QS constituted. Under my own criteria it’s a start that goes at least 5 IP with less than 1 earned run and less than 2 walks, 6 IP with less than 2 earned runs and 2 walks and 7+IP with 3 earned runs or less. By my standards
I know some ppl with the Yanks. Gleybor had some off the field distractions that I think had him unfocused at times. I think Boone no longer had patience with him and all parties just needed a break up. I like the kid and I hope he can return to being an all star caliber player. One of the things I think the Yanks might be lacking is more of a vocal leader. That’s not to say Judge isn’t a good captain and have of the organization but I don’t think he had the cache of a Jeter or Thurman Munson. Guys that have championship pedigree. That’s one reason I like the fact they brought in some veterans like Belli and Fried who’ve won WS.
I wish the Yanks would just go ahead and sign Jose Iglesia. He can play 2B, SS and 3B at a high level with the glove and over the last 4 seasons had a slash of .298/.334/.414. He doesn’t draw walks at all but he doesn’t strike out much and that span of 1,950 PA produced a .332 BABIP which isn’t a fluke. He likely wouldn’t cost much and being that he’s 35, shouldn’t require more than a 1 or 2 year deal. He could also be a strong option should Volpe get injured or fall off the earth with further lack of offensive production. They could keep one of Cabrera or Peraza as the utility guys or cut DJ, and call up Rice if they need to replace Goldy if injured.
A QS is defined as 6+ IP of 3 runs or less.
Blake Snell would never earn a “quality start” by your standards. The Yankees did have a vocal leader in Rizzo. I remember Rizzo chewing out Higgy in the dugout in plainsight after he had forgotten how many outs there were. Cole also isn’t a beat around the bush type.
@Yanks
Well that speaks to the absurdity of his contract doesn’t it? But in 24 he had 11/20 QS and in 23 he had 21/32. Rizzo can’t do much of he isn’t even on the field or preforming at even an ok level. Cole is one of those guys but every team needs a position player to be the voice. A pitcher can’t police a position player.
I’m sorry. I did not intend to post the comments on Burnes on this board.
@Knicks, Jeter was a leader. But from all I’ve read, he wasn’t the vocal leader of those clubs. Pauly was early on, and then Posada assumed that role.
Ps. I think Rizzo will be a successful MLB manager one day.
See ya!
Gleyber has stuck around and gets some form of big free agent money, the Yankees gave him every opportunity to thrive and he didn’t.
It is what it is. I don’t think Torres is shocked or didn’t expect them to not try to sign him or even give him a QO.
I genuinely believe the Yankees hope he succeeds and that they’ve decided he wasn’t a good fit on their roster.
I think he can still thrive and realize a solid 65-80% of his potential, make $100M+ before he retires. It just won’t be on the Yankees.
It happens. Sucks, but in the grand scheme of things it’s a best case scenario for player and team.
the yankees currently have no second baseman or leadoff hitter so gleyber wasn’t the worst fit. frustrating player but i’ll miss him
I often have to remind myself that there are utterly forgettable, unsexy options to replace high profile ‘star players’ who will ultimately do the little things much better and so though whomever replaces Torres might not have his power potential, his high profile, etc. that same person might run the bases proficiently, show a high baseball IQ even with mediocre or below average overall production.
I’ll take a guy who will hit less than 10 HR’s, will bat under .250 and will barely generate 1 -2 WAR but who has a better glove than Gleyber and who has base running instincts that are either impressive or we don’t notice either way, you know?
That was Jon Berti but unfortunately he has lower body injury issues which doesn’t bode well for a speed and defense player. A .250 average today is slightly above league average.
@Trill
I think the lineup could use another offensive player at 2b or 3b but if the costs are too high or we can’t agree on a trade package them off be OK with them signing Jose Iglesia and monitoring the trade market down the road. He’s actually a good fit, but he just lacks power.
Well said. I do believe away from the NYC spotlight is going to see Torres thrive and it would not surprise me if he has a great season .265/23/75 in the leadoff spot. Its unfortunate but some players just can’t handle NY.
Torres was a steady player until the Yankees ruined his confidence when they took him to play a year at SS without being prepared for it. The NY press trashed him and after that he was never the same player.
I don’t really care for Gleyber, but I think he has lot more talent than he’s shown
This could be like Jazz to NY. Guy needed to start over elsewhere and gets a jolt. Torres has talent. He absolutely crushes Baltimore. I’m happy to see him out of the division.
maybe so, I guess we’ll see. But he couldn’t have much less so it’s a low bar.
Goldschmidt and Torres have nearly identical numbers and metrics, yet Cashman felt 12.5 million for a 37-year-old declining player was merited, but 15 million for a 28-year-old was not.
Cashman’s baseball wisdom over the passing years has aged like a bottle of two-buck chuck wine.
On some level you’re not wrong, but Goldschmidt’s glove and base running acumen alone makes him more valuable than Gleyber at this point in time- and technically $2.5M cheaper.
And that base running acumen doesn’t mean he’s some elite base runner, but that he’s not notoriously awful at base running, to the point that the mistakes the player makes on the base path negates any surplus value the rest of their game play provides.
Seriously- Gleyber’s base running mistakes are enough for me to want to move on from him in favor of virtually any other player in that defensive position or in the offensive line up.
I wasn’t advocating for one or the other; I was just trying to determine Cashman’s criteria for assessing players required to fill pressing needs. If Goldy checks off all the boxes so does Gleyber.
I fear Cashman doesn’t have any plan and is just throwing darts at a board.
@Yankees
but you can’t look at each position the same way
The Yankees would not have been able to sign Gleyber to a 1 year contract, so they would have had to make a longer term commitment to a player who demonstrates poor baseball judgement in critical situations enough to throw water on that idea……his value down the stretch last year was his offense leading off, but you can’t overlook that other than that, he always seemed to be trying to capture his 2018 ROY runner-up glory……..
but the needs are the same are they not?
We need a first baseman. There were trade options and longer commitment options. Cashman chose to make the smallest commitment. OK.
We need an infielder. If he didn’t make a long-term commitment at first, it doesn’t appear he will make one at either second or third.
So what’s the plan, DJL, Cabrerra that’s how he plans to replace Torres offense?
That is my point, he wants to fill our needs, he showed us already his mindset in which case the smallest commitment was to retain Torres and wait until the next free agent market.
but you dont know that. They never made him an offer.
I agree fully trillionaire. He’s quite a frustrating player. Mr. Torres is.
@Yankees
Apples vs oranges my friend. You look for different things in a sports car than you do from a utility work vehicle.
Middle infield positions require a higher level of defensive ability than 1b. Goldy is good enough to be league average or better. Gleybor rates below average to average at best. Goldy plays a position where you normally look for power. Gleybor has good power for a 2b but lacks the speed and bat to ball you’d like to see from a 2b. It did show itself in the 2nd half, however. I do think the team may have been more inclined to stick with him if not for what I believe is a perception of him not being focused or dialed in. I know he had some off field issues he was dealing with but maybe they feel he let it effect him on field. I think the change was needed for him
but 2024 offensive numbers convention or metric put Torres and Goldschmidt in the same class
Torres WOBA 313 wRC+ 104 WAR 1.7
Goldschmidt WOBA 317 wRC+ 105 WAR 1.1
As for defense Goldy’s metrics they are not that good anymore and compared to the other first basemen that were available there were clearly better options in that department that Cashman chose not to take.
.
Analytics are for player agents that want to argue value beyond what someones eyes tell them about players and Gleyber is a good example of your eyes telling us that he just doesn’t have a good baseball head…that…..You can’t compare the Goldy signing to allowing Gleyber to……Gleyber was a disappointment and liability on the bases and enough times in the field to warrant letting him walk…..Goldy however, is a 1 year stop gap contract where more than likely the Yankees will get better offensive production, and defensive play than they did last year with Rizzo, et all……..
the eye test is rarely accurate.
100% true Rocky. A good summary of the whole situation. Let’s face it, Rizzo was just awful. Yeah nice guy ,but he’s not being paid almost 20,000,000 a year to be a nice guy.
he never recovered from that concussion, of course he shouldnt been playing for months with it anyway. that probably wounded his career more than anything. But throw in aging and you have a recipe for a washed up player. My grandmother could play better than Rizzo now so Goldsmith is going to be a huge improvement. whether it’s enough, to compensate for the loss of the diva Juan Soto, that’s another story.
@YF, Cash made an entire career on what Stick built.
When was the last time the Yankees kept their homegrown guys besides Judge beyond the control period?
Who cares… they’re trash anyway.
@Cleveland
I think you’re insinuating they only keep their guys until they’re cost controlled. I think that would be the wrong assumption. Other than Cano and Montgomery, I don’t think they’re guys worth letting that they didn’t.
As far as position players, you’d need to go back to Brett Gardner for homegrown. That’s more of a reflection of team policy to not offer early extensions. Luis Severino was the rare exception where they bought out his arb years and a free agent year with a team option.
he and Hicks ,don’t forget, but as it turned out both mistakes. Big ones, interesting that Severino was able to get through a whole year of pitching for the first time in like five years when he went to the Mets. Quite curious. Also ,if you also take on the consideration, that he managed to be unhealthy and mostly unable to play as soon as he signed that extension. But as soon as it is over, he went to the Mets and was able to get through a whole year. Quite curious and convenient.
@DR2020 I don’t question Sevy. The dude was once crying during a post-game interview after he came from TJS and had a setback during a start.
I genuinely couldn’t think of anyone of notable success beside Judge that has come out of their system that even the Franchise thought was worth trying to keep for the player entire career. And Judge was more of no-brainer franchise guy.
Torres started out like he possibly could be that guy, but I don’t know what happened it fell apart enough the Yankees were done. Maybe it’ll be different with Volpe and Dominguez. But I’m not holding my breath.
@Cleveland, besides Judge, which Yankees homegrown should’ve been kept beyond the control period?
It’s not like they’ve had another Jeter,or Mo, or Posada, or Bernie.
Gleyber, as an a MLB player, is medicore at best.
The Minnesota Twins madee an offer but neither side is commenting on the terms of the offer.
Outstanding that they didn’t. Detroit signed a perfect player for them at a very reasonable cost for one year, wow !
He’s only willing to play a position where he is below league average and is a league average hitter (according to wRC+). $15m seems like a lot for that.
Gleyber Torres is just another note in a very long list of players that Clown Cashman sold a false bill of goods on
NO he’s not…you can question Cash on many of his moves but not that he sold everyone on a bad player….Gleyber is exactly what you think he is….a .265 hitter, with occasional power, that has stretches of base running and defense that makes him expendable in NYC but may play out better for him in another town……no way he’s a terrible ballplayer…..he just doesn’t have a great baseball head.
this is largely true. But it’s his lack of focus at times which is a major problem for him and for the team I would say.
@TheMcNasty
get off his cashews. Torres was a consensus top 10 prospect across the board before they traded for him. He hit 62 himers his first 2 seasons. He hit 24+ homers in 4 of his 6 seasons. He simply lost focus and didn’t adjust to their adjustments. That’s not all on Cashman. You can argue the support staff didn’t do enough to nurture him, but it’s mostly on the player. Still, he leaves as the best 2b option on the market and a top 12 2b over the last 6 years. He wasn’t a failure he just stagnated the last couple of years, and both sides needed to move on. But I don’t regret Cashman making a brilliant trade for him.
can argue with that, unfortunately
Torres has to be a better watch than Torkelson. That’s who he has replaced. Maybe he wakes up the newly-hipped Baez as a bonus (yeah, right).
Since I doubt he would have signed there for any less than what he got and Detroit needs him, I don’t see this at all as an overpay.
you will ,once you see him play you will be saying overpay overpay overpay
They are basically both the same sub .250 hitters. Jazz is a better defender in my opinion but I havent looked at the stats. GT will play a poor 2B & hit below the Mendoza line anywhere he lands.
“below the Mendoza line” would be a sub .200 average. Torres has never batted below .243 in his career. The cumulative batting average in MLB in 2024 was .243.
Did anyone think they would? He had his shot in the Bronx and wasted it.
if they did, they haven’t been watching the games or don’t know nothing about baseball. Or are completely dense
Wow. Quite the ” abrasive ” comments section . Some folks seem to be have a case of the post Santa blues or possibly menstrual cramps and as a result are in a bitter and argumentative mood. All over a non issue such as Gleybar Torres!
Pretty soon the comments will be as ridiculous as “The Score” .
Lighten up ladies!
Sooner rather than later the Yankees will regret having “big mouth” Jazz in their roster
They still have a hole at 2nd no? 1 year 15 mil to run it back seems fair to me
if you watched the yankees you’d understand
no, they do not have a hole. Jazz is a natural second baseman, they’ve already said so and that’s where he will play.
Let’s keep this about baseball . We do not need the unnecessary remarks regarding race to be on any thread.
Don’t we have enough of this in our everyday lives?
Everyone becomes bold and adventurous when hiding behind a keyboard..
I’m 78, retired from the Army and 100% Disabled.
I’ve been a fan since 1954.
I’m telling you , not asking you to take your crap elsewhere.
you’re 100% right my friend
this must be just Clickbait. This is not breaking news, they made it quite clear. They did not want him back, that he did not fit into their future plans and he was part of the problem, not the solution. They’re trying to get better defensively and he’s hitting was nothing special either. people say he was the third best hidden team, which is debatable. But let’s face it. It was a low bar. That means nothing.
I am just glad I finally got something right in the free agent contest. Really punted this year. Teo and Gleybor have me up to 3 after sitting on one right pick all offseason. I got Eovaldi right. I missed a ton of other no brainers.
Smart move on the 1 year deal. This will be his age 28 season. If he goes off, he’s a free agent going into his age 29. Ideal. If it goes badly, he will still likely be MLB regular worthy & could do it again, looking for his big deal (as many do) going into his age 30 season. He’s one of the luck ones to hit FA so young. He has a wRC+ over 120 this year, he’ll get a nice 4-5 year deal for plenty. Maybe $80-100M.