The New York Yankees still need an infielder, but former top prospect Gleyber Torres won’t be one of them. Per Jon Heyman of the Post, the former All-Star is headed to the Detroit Tigers. MLB Insider Jim Bowden added that it is a one-year deal, with ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reporting it is worth $15 million.
Breaking: Gleyber Torres to Tigers
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 27, 2024
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Torres is 1-year deal with Tigers
— Jim Bowden
(@JimBowdenGM) December 27, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Torres, 28, was originally signed out of Venezuela by the Chicago Cubs and was traded to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman in 2016. Lauded as a natural hitter who could hit to all fields, he debuted with the Yankees in 2018 and made an immediate impact. Torres hit .271 with 24 home runs and 77 RBI, making the American League All-Star team and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Gleyber Torres continued his breakout the following year, mashing 38 home runs and earning a second All-Star nod. It looked as though the New York Yankees had finally found Robinson Cano’s long-term successor at second base.
Unfortunately, those first two years proved to be a mirage. The shortened 2020 season exposed Torres, who never hit more than 11 home runs in the minors, as a juiced baseball merchant. Torres even admitted that he abandoned his balanced, whole-field approach to sell out for power.
Torres slowly but surely found his form over the next few years, but not consistently enough. All too often would he get pull-happy and go for the big home run instead of working the big at-bat. Just look at Game 1 of the World Series; the Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty had 40 pitches through two innings of work, and Torres led off the third by swinging at the first pitch. Not smart baseball at all.
Torres also made too many mental mistakes in the field and on the basepaths. All too often, his lazy, boneheaded mistakes cost the Yankees some wins.
Lucky for the Tigers, Torres finally seemed to get himself right last year. He hit .293 after the All-Star Break and kept up his opposite-field approach all through the playoffs. It just wasn’t a strong enough finish to warrant being, in Torres’ own words, a “Yankee for life.”
Instead, Torres will take his streaky bat to spacious Comerica Park to be Detroit’s everyday second baseman. In New York, look for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to move back to second base from third.
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