Breaking News: Gleyber Torres is a Detroit Tiger. Details to come. Tweets inside...
Tweets:
My Thoughts:
Gleyber Torres was a fine Yankee, who managed second base for them for years, and was arguably one of the better players on the team some years. But, he was also emblematic of the problems that the Yankees have had since the Boone Era.
Gleyber Torres had- and still has- all the natural tools to be a perennial All-Star level player, yet in his career he's done so just twice: in his rookie and sophomore years (2018 & 2019). That isn't to say he's been bad in his career, but it is indicative of a larger problem.
Under Aaron Boone, the Yankees have played poor defense and have been butchers on the basepaths. Gleyber Torres was often a player who would come under fire for making defensive and/or baserunning mistakes. Maybe Aaron Boone- from all accounts a "players manager"- was not the right type of manager for a player like Torres. (As I believe he was also not the right manager for Gary Sanchez, whose stats fell tremendously after he took over in 2018.) Maybe Gleyber Torres needed a manager who was less dependent on his players' natural talents, and instead needed someone who was more strict on the fundamentals.
Remember: Gleyber Torres was a consensus Top-5 prospect in the MLB ahead of both 2017 and 2018. The problem and frustrations surrounding him during his Yankees tenure was never about "if he could" but "why isn't he".
Ultimately, Gleyber Torres had a fine Yankees tenure. Here are his career stats:
888 Games over 7 Seasons
.265/.334/.441 Triple-Slash with a .774 OPS/112 OPS+
870 Hits, 154 Doubles, 4 Triples, 138 Home Runs
460 Runs Scored, 441 RBI's
333 Walks, 746 Strikeouts
16.1 bWAR, 19.6 oWAR, -0.1 dWAR
On a 1-year, prove-it deal with the Detroit Tigers for $15 Million, Gleyber Torres will look to improve from his fine 2024 performance (101 OPS+, 1.8 bWAR) while still giving himself time to lock-in a lucrative contract given his age (he'll be going into his age-29 season in 2026).
This will also pair him up with A.J. Hinch as his manager, who- if Torres has a noticeable decrease in his defensive and baserunning mistakes- could help to support my theory about managerial styles.
Gleyber Torres also turned down an offer with the Washington Nationals in a move that would've moved him to third base. With the Detroit Tigers, he'll be sticking at second base, which is the smart move for him.
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What're your thoughts on this deal? Should the Yankees have brought him back at this price? Or, was it time for the Yankees and Gleyber Torres to split?
Good for him. I think he needed a new voice and situation. Good luck!
I like Gleyber and thought he was a good Yankee.
But it was time to move on. The team desperately needs a culture change. They are trying to affect that with signings like Goldschmidt and Bellinger. The infield defense was atrocious. At best!
Given a pitching philosophy that emphasizes ground balls, it is imperative to improve that area of the team. Gleyber simply does not fit.
Torres got the type of contract I thought he'd get, but not from the team I'd ever pick. The only 2 things that could make sense here, is that Detroit is done with Baez, and Torres will be the DH a couple of times a week.
As for managerial styles. Just stop it now. The Yankees FO, picks the manager, picks the coaches separately, oh and it's NEVER the coach's fault. Remember there were reports or rumors that Boone wanted to sit Torres after yanking him from the game, but he only missed one game.
Good for Gleyber, I think Detroit is a good fit for him. I remain really confused by his refusal to move to 3B. Defensively, I think it's his best fit on the diamond. Other than the fact that middle infielders are paid more (generally), I thought Gleyber would have really helped the team if he had moved to 3B, given that he looked quite good there as a minor league ballplayer and his arm (when stretched out) really plays there.