second baseman Gleyber Torres His first foray into free agency ended yesterday when he signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Tigers. However, Torres had a multi-year offer that he declined in favor of signing with Detroit, according to Chris Mycoskey of The Detroit News. Mycoskie went on to note that Torres highlighted the Nationals and Angels as teams that made him offers before he signed with the Tigers, while the current Yankees did not make him an offer.
“I have great friends there and great communication with the entire organization,” Torres spoke about his long-term club. “I’m proud of myself for seven years with the Yankees, but now I’m in Detroit and I’m glad they gave me a chance to play next year. I think they have other priorities and I’m not on the roster. I’m good .
The Yankees’ choice not to try to bring back Torres wouldn’t necessarily be a major shock. As part of the deal, the 28-year-old joined the club ahead of his MLB debut Aroldis Chapman To the Cubs at the 2016 trade deadline and debuted with the club in 2018. He slashed just .261/.332/.411 (109 wRC+) with average or below-average defensive performance at second base. That’s solid enough for a major league regular, but nowhere near the numbers the Yankees were hoping for when a consensus top-five prospect in baseball hit 123 in the first two seasons of his major league career. wRC+ results.
In fact, Torres is starting to look more like his early-career self in 2023, when he slashed .273/.347/.453 (120 wRC+) and posted 3.6 fWAR. But unfortunately, he had a lackluster 2024 season, with his wRC+ falling to 104, the second-lowest number of his career. The overall weak numbers are largely due to a slow start to the season, with Torres hitting just .215/.289/.248 through the first 32 games of the season. However, starting on May 2, he slashed a more respectable .268/.341/.412 (115 wRC+), including a stellar .292/.361/.419 (124 wRC+) after the All-Star break.
However, this strong performance was not enough to save his role with the Yankees, as the club has traded little jazz chisholm at the summer trade deadline. While Chisholm moved to third base out of respect for Torres, the Yankees have their eye on potential third base additions such as Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado Instead of reuniting with Torres, as they consider returning Chisholm to his natural position. Even so, Torres’ stellar play late in the season attracted the attention of several clubs outside of the Tigers, with Torres himself highlighting the Nationals and Angels as teams showing interest in him this winter.
It was previously reported that both clubs are interested in Torres this winter, so it is not surprising that both clubs have made offers for him. With that said, Torres’ ability to maintain the second base spot with the Tigers could make them a more attractive option than D.C. or Anaheim. The Nationals are clearly interested in Torres as a third baseman given his presence Luis Garcia Jr. on the cornerstone, while the angels currently have Louis Rengifo Listed as their everyday second baseman. It’s unclear if Angels brass wants to move Torres to third base as well, or if they’ll let Regifford assume the super-utility role he’s often played throughout his career, but the Tigers are moving Colt Keith Choosing first base out of respect for Torres certainly makes it easy for the 28-year-old to feel reassured that he’ll be able to bring out the best in himself 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 package this winter. Washington has acquired first baseman Nathaniel Lowe A trade was made with the Rangers earlier this week, but there could also be an upgrade at the hot corner. The Angels, meanwhile, have been linked to several third base options, including high-profile trade candidates like Nolan Arenado Alec Bohm There were more surprising choices, such as Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez. In addition to these trade market possibilities, the third base market in free agency is led by Bregman but also includes players like Yoan Moncada and Josh Rojas.
