Gleyber Torres agrees to contract with Tigers (report)

Former Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres has agreed to a deal with the Tigers, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported it’s a one-year contract for $15 million. The club has not confirmed.

Torres’ 2024 was a tale of two very different baseball seasons. He had a rough start at the plate, and his defense and baserunning suffered as his offensive woes persisted. But after a pair of benchings, the tide seemed to turn for Torres.

From Aug. 3 on, serving mainly as a leadoff man ahead of the Yankees’ big boppers, he hit .302 down the stretch and became a driving force behind the club’s AL pennant run and subsequent trip to the World Series. Of the Yankees’ 14 postseason games, Torres reached safely in each of the first 13.

Torres’ Major League career has featured flashes of brilliance. At the time of his debut in 2018, he was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. In his first two Major League seasons, Torres was a two-time All-Star, hitting .275 with a .511 slugging percentage and 125 OPS+ with 62 home runs and 167 RBIs.

A 2020 move to shortstop, his natural position, exacerbated existing defensive concerns and appeared to contribute to a dip in production. From 2020-21, he had a .366 SLG. The Yankees would later shift him back to second in late 2021, and there he did rebound at the plate, hitting .266/.330/.452 with an OPS+ of 116 from 2022-23, although he has never quite recaptured his All-Star form.