The Detroit Tigers upgraded their second base position on Friday with the signing of middle infielder Gleyber Torres of Caracas, Venezuela. The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal worth $15 million according to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Torres has spent the last seven seasons with the New York Yankees.
The fact that Torres switched teams is minorly surprising when you consider the fact the Yankees are in a better position at this time to win the World Series than the Tigers. Among the new Yankees are pitchers Max Fried of Santa Monica, California, and Devin Williams of St. Louis, Missouri, outfielder Cody Bellinger of Scottsdale, Arizona, and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of Wilmington, Delaware. All four of the new Yankees played last season for a National League team. Fried was with the Atlanta Braves, Williams with the Milwaukee Brewers, Goldschmidt with the St. Louis Cardinals, and Bellinger with the Chicago Cubs.
Torres in 2024
Torres batted .257 with 15 home runs and 63 runs batted in. During 154 games, 587 at bats and 665 plate appearances, he scored 80 runs and had 151 hits, 26 doubles, four stolen bases, 65 walks, 222 total bases, two sacrifice bunts, eight sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .330 and a slugging percentage of .378. In an interesting statistic, Torres was comfortably batting leadoff in 2024. He batted .283 first in the order (67 hits in 237 at bats), and .243 (84 hits in 350 at bats) through other spots in the lineup.
All-Star Twice
In his first two Major League seasons of 2018 and 2019, Torres was an American League All-Star. In 2018, Torres was third in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind winner and Los Angeles Angels designated hitter/pitcher Shohei Ohtani of Oshu, Japan, and Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
In 2018, Torres batted .271 with 24 home runs and 77 runs batted in. During 123 games, 431 at bats and 484 plate appearances, he scored 54 runs, and had 117 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, six stolen bases, 207 total bases, one sacrifice bunt, five sacrifice flies, with an on base percentage of .340 and a slugging percentage of .480. The triple came in an 8-1 Yankees win over the Boston Red Sox on June 29, 2018.
In 2019, Torres batted .278 with 38 home runs and 90 runs batted in. During 144 games, 546 at bats and 604 plate appearances, he scored 96 runs and had 152 hits, 26 doubles, five stolen bases, 292 total bases, one sacrifice bunt, six sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .337 and a slugging percentage of .535. The sacrifice bunt came in a 7-3 Yankees win over the San Francisco Giants on April 26, 2019.
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