Infielder Gleyber Torres agreed to terms on a one-year, $15 million contract in free agency with the Detroit Tigers. The team announced the agreement Friday morning.
Torres, who just turned 28, is coming off a 2024 season for the New York Yankees in which he hit .257/.330/.378 (101 OPS+) with 15 homers and 26 doubles in 154 games as the starting second baseman for the eventual American League champions. Those numbers marked a slight step back for Torres, who in 2022-23 combined had an OPS+ of 116, a WAR of 7.0 and 49 home runs in 298 games.
Earlier in the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Torres as the 21st available free agent in the current class. Here is part of our article:
From the files of Contrasting and Simultaneously True Statements: Torres had a disappointing walk year, finishing with the second-lowest OPS+ of his career, but he is comfortably among the top 25 free agents based on his youth ( he’s heading towards his age – 28 season) and his track record (he has a career 112 OPS+). While we expect Torres to agree to a one- or two-year pillow deal and make these upcoming comments moot, we have two reservations about his long-term prospects. Above all, almost all of his power is reserved for errors in the middle, he struggles to do much reliably on outside pitches; Additionally, he’s already a below-average defender at the keystone, which doesn’t bode well for his chances of providing secondary value as he ages into his 30s. Again, these concerns will likely be more relevant to the contract after this one, but are worth keeping in mind as his career progresses.
For his career, Torres, a two-time All-Star with the Yankees, has an OPS+ of 112 and a WAR of 16.1 over seven big league seasons. As a 22-year-old primary shortstop for the Yankees in 2019, Torres hit 38 home runs in 144 games.
Signing the one-year pact with Detroit gives Torres the opportunity to reestablish his value by producing more to career standards and then re-enter the free agent market next offseason in search of a much-loved pact. more important. For the Tigers, who made a surprise playoff run last season, Torres solidifies a key spot in the middle of the field. Promising youngster Colt Keith played second base last season, but this winter he is preparing to move to first base.
