The Detroit Tigers have their second base slot locked down for the 2025 MLB season.
Tigers stamp Gleyber Torres as starting second baseman
The Tigers will be rolling with their latest marquee offseason acquisition in Gleyber Torres to man second base next year. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale revealed Detroit’s plans regarding their new full-time starter at the position and how that will reverberate across their depth chart, saying:
“Gleyber Torres will be the everyday second baseman, Colt Keith will now play first base, and 1B Spencer Torkelson’s role has yet to be defined, Tigers GM Scott Harris says,” reported Nightengale on X on Friday afternoon.
Tigers: Torres’ talent proves he can evolve up & down play
Torres has been an up-and-down talent in the big leagues throughout his career. The Venezuelan talent is a two-time All-Star who has had moments of brilliance offensively for his former team in the New York Yankees. Torres has consistently shown that he can get 20 home runs in a campaign and do so efficiently, with a respectable career .265 batting average and .774 OPS.
His defense has come and gone though. Thrice has Torres led the American League in errors (2020, ’23, ’24) and his 18 errors committed in 2024 made that the second consecutive year he has led the entire Majors among all second basemen.
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Tigers hold the cards on short-term Torres deal
The flex 2B and shortstop comes with his share of promising talent, experience, and shortcomings. The Tigers are expecting Torres to help them improve upon their stout fielding from a season ago, which included committing the eighth-fewest errors in the MLB (80) in 2024 and boasting the fourth-best fielding percentage (.986) among all teams. His short-term one-year, $15 million contract gives Detroit the luxury to see if he can bring exemplary power to the plate and have a career season in the infield without being held down for multiple years.
