For the better part of the last seven seasons, the New York Yankees had Gleyber Torres as one of their regulars. It was at shortstop for a while, and then at second base. Whenever he was healthy, Torres was an important piece of the puzzle for the Bombers since 2018.
Gleyber Torres has a lot to prove after his recent stretch of inconsistency
Gleyber looked as advertised in 2018 and 2019 when he earned the only two All-Star selections of his career. Inconsistency then kicked in in 2020-21, followed by a two-year span in which he appeared to give the Yankees a true 25-homer threat annually.
Yes, he was brilliant for the Yankees in the second half and during the playoffs, but he was so bad before the break that he finished with a .709 OPS and a 104 wRC+. It’s because of that first half that he decided to take a one-year, $15 million offer from the Detroit Tigers to re-establish some value in a competitive environment and go for the big goal in the 2025-26 offseason: a nine-figure deal.
The former Yankees infielder is betting on himself with the Tigers
“I really believe in myself,” said Torres, who prioritized American League teams and preferred a spring training facility in Florida as a first-time free agent. “I always bet on myself. In this process, I tried to find the right place to play one year. I got a few opportunities with other teams, but the young team in Detroit, the group looks like a family,” Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press wrote.
Maybe the Tigers don’t have the best ballpark for Torres to finish with his best offensive output yet, but he remains a solid hitter in his prime and will be surrounded by good batters, such as Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and others.
The goal is simple: play well enough to get a chance at least at $100 million in next year’s offseason.
“Torres is eager to improve his performance from 2024 and return to free agency after the 2025 season, seeking a contract worth more than $100 million,” Petzold explained.
The Yankees had their chance to retain Torres, first by offering him a qualifying offer and then by showing some semblance of interest in him once he hit the open market. Neither happened and the talented, yet inconsistent and error-prone infielder ended up joining the up-and-coming Tigers.
