The effects of preseason moves are noticeable even into the regular season. Sometimes trades are positive, but there are times when they are quite the opposite. For the New York Yankees, who are on the brink of elimination, they must be regretting one trade in particular. Current Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres received praise heading into September. The former Yankees All-Star is the most indispensable and underrated player for the Michigan ballclub, where his Bronx counterparts have been a total disappointment.
After signing a one-year, $15 million contract in the preseason, Torres has delivered for the Tigers as they expected. He has gotten on base and hit with power at the right time, Bowden wrote Friday. “He has posted an OPS of 110 and a WAR of 2.1,” according to Baseball Reference. He does not run the risk outside the strike zone.
The reasons why the Yankees let Gleyber Torres go
At the end of the 2024 season, he had 15 home runs and 136 strikeouts, the worst mark of his career. And it wasn’t just Torres’ bat that put the Yankees in trouble. However, he committed 15 errors in 2023 and 18 in 2024. Between his poor fielding and inconsistent hitting, the Yankees decided to let him go as a free agent last winter. “The Tigers needed to increase traffic in the middle of their lineup; Torres and his team-leading .359 on-base percentage have helped with that,” Bowden added.
Currently, the Detroit Tigers have excelled in the power of their hitting where Torres has contributed 111 hits in this department. “Gleyber sets the tone for our lineup every night. His quality at-bats have become contagious on this team,” said Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Torres is hitting .262 this season with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs and is being praised for his leadership in the clubhouse.
Gleyber Torres’ numbers to return to New York Yankees
It has been a spectacular recovery season for the 28-year-old, who earned his third All-Star Game nomination. He first participated as a rookie in 2018 and returned to the majors the following season. But after hitting 38 home runs for the Yankees in 2019, a career high, it was all downhill for Torres, who saw his power numbers drop over the next five seasons.
That might have been the best thing that could have happened to Torres. Consider this quote from last month from The Athletic’s Jayson Stark: “Sometimes the smartest thing a player can do is promote himself out of the New York spotlight. Gleyber has made the most money, right?” an American League executive told Stark. “Gleyber bet on himself with the one-year contract. And if he does it again in the second half, he’s going to get paid.”
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