Gleyber Torres' New York Yankees tenure ended on such a sour note that he signed a fairly cheap one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers this past offseason and most Yankees fans were completely fine with it. Well, flash forward a few months, and Torres has had an outstanding first half away from the Bronx, one that was rewarded with a starting nod in the 2025 All-Star Game. (He's even leading off to boot.)
This reality was nothing short of surprising to Torres, and it's hard to blame him, considering the manager for the American League is Yankees skipper Aaron Boone.
Gleyber Torres says he was "kinda" surprised that Aaron Boone chose him to be the leadoff hitter for the American League in tonight's All-Star Game
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 15, 2025
He adds that he's excited to see "all the boys" when asked about seeing his former Yankees teammates pic.twitter.com/yDO9uaYSv8
While he was "kinda" surprised, Torres took that surprise in stride and made nothing but classy comments to the media about the All-Star Game and about his former Yankees teammates.
"There are really good players in the lineup. Being in the leadoff spot is going to be an honor for me. I'll try to set the baton for the guys," Torres said when asked how surprised he was to be placed in the leadoff spot. When he was later asked which of his former Yankees teammates he was excited to see, Torres said, "All the boys. I've got really good relationships with everybody."
Torres is not interested in stirring up any drama. He's excited for the game and is excited to play with his former teammates again.
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Gleyber Torres couldn't have handled All-Star Game surprise any better
It's hard to blame Torres for being surprised considering who the manager for the AL is. Boone was running the show for the entirety of Torres' Yankees tenure, and was notably hard on the infielder. He pulled him from games on more than one occasion due to a lack of hustle.
Given that, his name constantly being floated in trade rumors during his time in the Bronx and how inconsistent he was in pinstripes, it's hard to blame Torres for being surprised that Boone gave him this kind of recognition, even if it was deserved.
Torres could've talked about how he was treated in the Bronx and about how he's played as well as he ever has in his first half away from the Yankees. He's been critical of New York publicly in the past. Instead, Torres just appeared to be thankful, which is not a route everyone would've taken.
Now, all Torres can do is validate the trust Boone is putting in him. Passing the baton along to big bats like Riley Greene, Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh behind him could be what gets the AL lineup going against Paul Skenes and a loaded NL pitching staff.