The New York Yankees underwent several changes this offseason, none more notable than letting Gleyber Torres walk in free agency. Okay, that's a lie — Juan Soto left, and that sucked all the oxygen out of the online discourse for a few months. But New York also lost Gleyer Torres to the Detroit Tigers in what felt like a long overdue breakup.
While Torres has been an impactful bat for the Yankees over the years, he's a negative-value defender whose stubbornness was often detrimental to the collective. Just last season he refused to switch to third base, forcing longtime outfielder Jazz Chisholm to learn third base on the fly, rather than playing a more familiar position at second base.
Letting go of Torres felt like the right move in the moment, with Yankees fans thrilled to get rid of a defensive liability and a locker room question mark. A few months into the 2025 campaign, however, Torres has shown exactly why the Yankees needed him in the first place. It doesn't help that New York is running awfully thin in the infield.
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Yankees are coming to regret letting Gleyber Torres walk in free agency
Torres has been in the heart of the order for Detroit so far, batting .275 with a .795 OPS and five home runs. Those are solid numbers in a vacuum, but his expected batting averages (.301) — in the 91st percentile — suggests that he's actually performing better than the raw counting stats. A little bit more luck could mean his numbers perk up as the season progresses.
The defense remains subpar, as he averages minus-2 outs above average in the 16th percentile, but that's a marked improved over last season (minus-4). Torres has spoken openly about his mistakes in the field last season and his need to improve. While he still appears married to second base, for better or worse, he's making the effort to improve. And, at 28, he still has ample room for growth.
Look at the Yankees' infield by comparison, and it's grim. Chisholm was reinstated from the injury list on Tuesday, but Oswaldo Cabrera remains out of commission. DJ LaMahieu (.640 OPS), Anthony Volpe (.747 OPS) and Oswald Peraza (.563 OPS) are all struggling relative to Torres. New York is better off defensively, but this isn't exactly a roster stacked with Gold Glove candidates. The Yankees are losing the trade-off with Detroit right now.
It's worth noting that Torres is producing such positive numbers with the Tigers, playing half his games in the notoriously hitter-unfriendly Comerica Park. Translate his hit chart to Yankee Stadium, and there's a good chance Torres wouldn't be such a victim of bad luck, meaning this potent Yankees lineup would be even better. That Detroit is 2.5 games ahead of New York in the standings is just the cherry on top of disappointment for Yankees fans.