Gleyber Torres is proof of two things: One, he’s still an All-star caliber player and the Detroit Tigers are cashing in; and two, playing in the New York market isn’t for everybody. Torres was an All-star with the New York Yankees, too, but he was inconsistent. Not because he wasn’t good enough but because the pressure of playing in a market like New York is daunting. The fans are quick to give up on you and the team is impatient with inconsistency.
That’s how he landed in Detroit, where he’s more than revived his career. He’s with a team that not only knows how to develop players, but is patient with them and allows them to grow into their own. It’s a trend that could make free agents more interested in choosing Detroit.
Torres is on a one year deal. He could have landed anywhere, but chose Detroit because he knew the opportunity was too good. They needed a slugger that could bail them out in critical moments and he needed a team to believe in him in a market that would stand by him.
Gleyber Torres is proof that playing for the New York Yankees isn’t for everybody, nor isn’t the end
Torres is slashing .276/.377/.419 in what’s arguably his best season since 2019. He has seven home runs and 34 RBI on the year on a team that’s running the AL Central division right now. Not only are the Tigers one of the hottest teams in the AL, but Torres is one of the hottest batters.
I know it was probably hard for the Yankees to see this, but Torres was always a talented player, but when you’re on a team with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, if you aren’t standing out yourself, it makes it easy for the team to dispose of you. The Yankees tried hard to bring back Soto, but lost the sweepstakes to their inner city rival.
The best thing for Torrest was to leave The Bronx, even if it wasn’t his preference. The best thing to do was to land on a short term deal in Detroit, even if he could have had long term stability. After this season’s over with, he’ll have a decision to make, which will hinge largely on how the Tigers’ season ends.
Does he return to the team that helped him regain his confidence? Or does he take the one season away from the spotlight as the opportunity to carve out his legacy elsewhere? I know the Tigers will have to be strategic this offseason as they’ll be dealing with Tarik Skubal’s pending extension, in hopes they can keep him in the Motor City.
If he does leave though, he and Torres are proof Detroit isn’t a bad landing spot after all. It’s the place you can go, win and develop into a future franchise piece. The hope for the franchise is that it’s in Detroit. But their success just opens the door for more players to see that vision.
Torres was always the All-star player he revived in Detroit. He just needed to leave New York to see that. And there’s nothing wrong with that.