It wasn’t a great 2024 for Gleyber Torres, who had his worst offensive season in three years in his last year before free agency. The Tigers will hope for better from Gleyber Torres in 2025, as Detroit reportedly agree to sign the 28-year-old to a one-year deal.
A Look at Torres
The 2024 campaign was an up-and-down one for Gleyber Torres, who will play for a MLB team other than the Yankees for the first time in his career. Torres was originally acquired by New York (AL) in 2016 in the Aroldis Chapman trade with Chicago (NL).
The 28-year-old started his career with a bang, as Torres hit 24 home runs in his rookie year. One year later, in the 2019 campaign, Torres hit .278/.337/.535 (.871 OPS) with 38 home runs and 292 total bases. But in 2024, the new Tiger hit .257/.330/.378 (.709 OPS) with 15 home runs and 41 extra-base hits.
Both of those totals were his lowest in a full campaign in three years.
It’s been a slow burn for Torres, an adept hitter with above-average power for the second base position. His 64 home runs between 2022-24 were fourth-most among players at the position (min. 50% GP), behind only Jose Altuve (65), Ketel Marte (73), and Marcus Semien (78).
However, Torres was burned by some problems in 2024, including an increase on rolled balls, and getting jammed more on pitches inside and on the lower half of the zone. For reference, the average MPH from Torres on the low-and-inside corner was five MPH less in 2024, compared to 2022. It’s led to lower SLG from the 28-year-old.
But when Torres get a hold of one, he can still do damage and that was proven late last year. After posting a .654 OPS in the first half, Torres rebounded with a .780 OPS in the second half.
Torres hit .333/.387/.472 with three home runs and nine extra-base hits over the final regular season month of 2024. He then hit .241/.348/.397 with five extra-base hits in the MLB Postseason.
Defensively, Torres has spent most of his MLB career at second base, after spending much of his MiLB career at short. The new Tiger played a good amount of short in 2019 and much of 2020-21 at the position.
However, Torres was not a hit at the position. He never showed good range or feel at the position, and made 27 errors over the two seasons there. Torres’ nine errors in 2020 led the American League.
While he’s not a particularly good defender at second base (-4 OAA in 2024), it is servicable most nights.
Per reports, the Tigers will sign Gleyber Torres to a one-year deal worth $15MM.
Analysis
This is a low-risk move for the Tigers, who don’t commit long-term money to Torres, a wild card throughout his career.
Yes, Torres offers a lot offensively, namely discipline at the plate and pop. Which, are components the Tigers need heading into 2025. Detroit finished 2024 in the bottom half of many offensive categories, and Torres can easily fit in the top half of the Tigers’ lineup.
However, where Torres ultimately slots in defensively will be interesting. The early indications out of Detroit are that Torres will be the team’s starting second baseman. He’s not a plus defender and realistically, Colt Keith — a key piece of Detroit’s future — slots in better at the position.
The 23-year-old Keith demonstrated better range (O OAA) last season than Torres, who’s graded as a below-average defender throughout his career. However, it looks Keith will transition to first, per president of baseball ops Scott Harris.
Nonetheless, Torres joins a Tigers infield that tenatively includes the aforementioned Keith, Javier Baez, Spencer Torkelson, Jace Jung, and utilitymen Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibanez.