Detroit Tigers sign ex-Yankee Gleyber Torres to $15 million contract

The Detroit Tigers have signed former New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres to a one-year, $15 million deal,He projects to play second base for the Tigers.

Torres, 28, hit .257 with 15 home runs, 65 walks and 136 strikeouts in 154 games for the Yankees in the 2024 season, playing exclusively second base.

Before signing with the Tigers, Torres reportedly rejected an offer from the Washington Nationals because the Nationals wanted to play him at third base. He has never played third base in his seven-year MLB career, all with the Yankees.

Torres was worth minus-11 defensive runs saved at second base in 2024.

As for offense, Torres is known for making smart swing decisions. He ranked in the 92nd percentile with a 21.4% chase rate. He also ranked in the 70th percentile in walk rate (9.8%), 60th percentile in whiff rate (22.9%) and 57th percentile in strikeout rate (20.5%). His walk rate is above average and his strikeout rate is average but his swing decisions are elite.

Most notably, Torres crushes left-handed pitching.

He balances the Tigers' lineup as a right-handed hitter.

In 2024, Torres hit .265 with an .811 OPS against lefties. In 2023, he hit .278 with a .921 OPS against lefties. In 2022, he hit .256 with an .829 OPS against lefties. While hitting lefties, Torres has similar batting averages against right-handed pitchers despite not producing as much power against righties.

From 2022-24, Torres has been worth 7.9 fWAR for 58th place among 95 position players with at least 1,500 plate appearances in those three seasons. Meanwhile, his 1.7 fWAR in 2024 ranked 97th among 129 qualified position players.

Torres, an All-Star in 2018 and 2019, owns a .265 batting average with a 9.1% walk rate, 20.3% strikeout rate and .774 OPS in his seven-year MLB career, from 2018-24. He has hit at least 15 homers in five of six full seasons.

The Tigers are trying to get back to the postseason for the second season in a row. Torres is accustomed to competing in the playoffs with 198 plate appearances in 45 games throughout his career, including five games in the 2024 World Series.

But Torres remains in search of a World Series championship.

The addition of Torres creates a surplus of infielders for the Tigers without an answer at third base, though Torres fills a key need as a right-handed hitting infielder.

Second base is clogged with Torres and Colt Keith.

But Keith, a left-handed hitter, is taking reps at first base this offseason to expand his defensive versatility, creating internal competition for first baseman Spencer Torkelson in spring training. Although Keith has previous experience at third base, he won't play there because of injury concerns with the labrum in his right shoulder.

One configuration for the 2025 Opening Day infield is Keith at first base, Torres at second base, Trey Sweeney at shortstop and Matt Vierling at third base. It's unclear if the Tigers will continue pursuing free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman.

There are 90 days until Opening Day.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gleyber Torres contract: Tigers sign ex-Yankees infielder for $15M