Tigers sign Gleyber Torres to a one-year contract

Torres will presumably play 2B, but how he’ll fit in with Colt Keith is an open question.

The Detroit Tigers finally made a move on Friday morning. As Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported, the Tigers are set to sign infielder Gleyber Torres to a one-year deal worth $15 million. Jesse Rogers of ESPN had the contract details.

The move makes sense for the Tigers lineup, though the fit for the roster is a little peculiar. Torres is a second baseman, and not a good one defensively. He hasn’t played shortstop in years, nor does he have experience at first or third base. Perhaps he can move around the diamond a bit, but whatever the plan is the Tigers signed him for his bat. What that means for Colt Keith’s playing time will be a key question for the front office in their comments on the signing.

The 28-year-old, right-handed hitting infielder has played his whole career with the Yankees . He came up in the Chicago Cubs system but was traded to New York in July 2016 in a deal that sent ace closer Aroldis Chapman to Chicago and helped ensure the Cubs first World Series title since 1908.

Torres holds a career .271/.347/.507 line with a 134 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. That’s the appeal here for a team that is heavily left-handed. His numbers against right-handers are are close to average, with a career 106 wRC+ line. Those splits held true in 2024, though Torres posted a 94 wRC+ against right-handed pitching last year.

He got off to a really rough start in March/April of 2024, and really didn’t heat up that much until September, but he finished the year with a 146 wRC+ and went on to a solid postseason. He’s been a pretty consistent performer throughout his career though the power numbers slipped a little bit in 2024, and after a few minor injuries in 2021 and 2022, Torres has played basically everyday the past two years without any issues.

Defensively, Torres posted a negative 11 defensive runs saved in 2024 at the second base position. He didn’t play anywhere else. By Outs Above Average (OAA), Torres was a negative seven at the position. So, he and Colt Keith grade out pretty closely in terms of their defense at the position, but Keith has the edge. Of course, Keith is still just 23 years old and still learning the position after converting to second base entering the 2023 season. Torres isn’t going to improve at this point in his career.

Torres is a fairly disciplined hitter and was even better than usual in that regard in 2024. His overall swing rate was the lowest its best since 2020, and the same was true of his chase rate, though his strikeout and walk rates were just typically solid for him rather than outstanding. Torres has cut down the swing and miss significantly over the past two years, but the selectivity and fewer whiffs hasn’t translated into better power production. Torres 38 home runs in his sophomore season is a distant memory from the super ball era now.

Still, while the home run totals have declined from 24 homers in 2022, and 25 in 2023, to just 15 last season, his overall power potential looks undiminished, and Torres has a pretty good track record in Comerica Park. He’s still hitting the baseball hard pretty consistently, showing plus maximum exit velocities, keeping it off the ground, and using all fields.

We can safely say that the Tigers’ offense is better with this signing. Torres is coming off a down year, but typically his production at the plate is nearly as good as say, Alex Bregman. The problem is his defense and fitting both he and Colt Keith into the right side of the infield. The Tigers have mentioned Keith taking some balls at first base this offseason, but they don’t seem in a hurry to move on from Spencer Torkelson either. The question is how versatile Torres is willing to be, and we’ll just have to wait and see.

You can pretty much rule out any time on the left side of the infield for Torres, and there’s nothing to suggest that Keith’s arm strength has improved enough to try him back at third base either. It is also a little bit concerning to force Keith off his position for a one-year rental player, but perhaps Torres is willing to try his hand at first base as well. That would give them a little more flexibility on the right side of the infield.

The press conference should be interesting as the Tigers explain how they’re planning to work everyone into the lineup. Whether this ends their pursuit of Alex Bregman may also be a question asked. My guess would be that the Tigers were looking for a cheap, no commitments way to improve the offense, and they probably found it in Gleyber Torres. The Tigers offense won’t be scaring anyone, but he does make it a more versatile, dangerous group, and adds plenty of big game experience to what is otherwise a very young lineup. If they manage to add Bregman as well, the offense would be in quite good shape.

We’ll have to see how it all fits together, but in isolation, this is a solid signing that maintains plenty of flexibility for the organization going forward. Whether it’s enough to significantly improve the overall run scoring remains to be seen.