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After finishing the 2024 season on a magical 30-11 run to reach the postseason and beat the Astros in the Wild Card Series to advance to the ALDS, many expected the upstart Tigers to be extremely active on the free agent market facing 2025.
However, as of Friday, his only major league signing of the winter was a one-year, $15 million pact with aging right-hander Alex Cobb. He wasn’t exactly the high-impact addition the Tigers faithful were hoping for.
He’s been rumored to be one of Alex Bregman’s two (or three) finalists in recent days, but he’s expected to get a contract in the $200 million range and it seems unlikely that Scott Harris and company will want to make that one. guy. long-term commitment.
That sentiment was echoed once again on Friday when the Tigers opted to buy into the discount basket, agreeing to a one-year, $15 million contract with free agent infielder Gleyber Torres.
What can we expect from Gleyber Torres?
Great question, I’m glad you asked. Once considered one of the best overall prospects in baseball (and one the Tigers nearly acquired for Michael Fulmer in 2018), the 28-year-old infielder has shown flashes but has mostly failed to live up to his lofty highs. expectations.
His best season as a pro came as a 22-year-old in 2019, when he hit .278/.337/.535 with career highs of 38 home runs and 90 RBI in 144 games with the Yankees. He’s been trying to get that magical sense back.
Torres stayed healthy throughout the 2024 campaign and hit a mediocre .257/.330/.378 with just 15 home runs, 63 RBI, four stolen bases (in seven attempts) and a 136/65 K/R ratio. BB. He saw his strikeout rate increase from 14.6 percent to 20.5 percent while his power production dropped significantly. That’s backed by a decline in his average exit velocity and his worst barrel rate (6.3 percent) since the truncated 2020 season.
He stands out as a below-average defender at shortstop and had already turned down a deal with the Nationals this winter because he didn’t want to move to third base. That means we can expect him to function as the Tigers’ regular second baseman heading into the 2025 campaign.
Don’t the Tigers already have a second baseman?
What’s wrong with Colt Keith?
The Tigers seemed to have their second base position already secured when they signed Colt Keith to a six-year, $28.6 million contract before he even made his major league debut last season. The 23-year-old slugger started extremely slow at the plate, but had a very strong rookie campaign overall, hitting .260/.309/.380 with 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and seven stolen bases.
Keith is a lock to remain in a starting role in the Tigers’ infield, but if Torres is now designated at second base, where will he go? He was drafted as a third baseman and played hot corner primarily in the minor leagues before moving to second base. The team has gone on record saying they prefer not to play him there due to injury issues with his throwing shoulder.
The most logical move would be for Keith to slide to first base, a position they had mentioned would give him work during spring training anyway. However, if he becomes the team’s regular first baseman…
What’s wrong with Spencer Torkelson?
At the moment, it looks like he may end up being the odd one out. The former first overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft, Torkelson broke out hugely in 2023 when he hit 31 home runs and drove in 94 runs. However, his production fell off a cliff in 2024 and he ended up spending a few months midseason at Triple-A Toledo trying to work on things.
In the end, the 25-year-old slugger hit a putrid .219/.295/.374 with just 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and a 105/33 K/BB ratio in 381 plate appearances.
With Torkelson’s struggles, it makes sense to have a contingency plan in case he starts cold again in 2025. But are they ready to rule it out entirely? The addition of Torres certainly fills the mix and something will have to give. It’s always possible that the Tigers are shopping Torkelson in an effort to find pitching help, but in doing so they would be selling for pennies on the dollar and another team would be reaping the potential reward.
How does Jace Jung fit in?
Another interesting question. As their roster currently stands, it appears that Jung and Matt Vierling will likely split the action at the hot corner, with Jung starting against most righties and Vierling moving in from the outfield when facing lefties.
I don’t think the addition of Torres will necessarily hurt Jung, but until the offseason is over we won’t know for sure. It’s entirely possible that the Tigers will continue pursuing Bregman even after signing Torres, in which case Jung would be completely locked in at third base.
The 24-year-old held his own in his first taste of Major League action, slashing .241/.362/.304 and an impressive 16.0 percent walk rate to help balance out his 30.9 percent. Jung showed exceptional power in the minor leagues, and while it didn’t translate to his sample of 94 plate appearances, it should be demonstrated over a full season in 2025.
That is, assuming you have somewhere to play. For now, we’ll keep his playing time projections the same as before Torres’ signing, but Bregman could come along and completely change everything. In which case, Jung would be demoted back to Triple-A or be on the buying block like his friend Torkelson.
How does this affect Gleyber Torres’ fantasy value?
It’s really difficult to discern. At first glance, it would be easy to say that he’s going to see a downgrade in his overall supporting cast and get a massive downgrade in terms of park factor from Yankee Stadium to Comerica Park. Those are fair assumptions.
I think it will ultimately come down to how motivated Torres is. By agreeing to a one-year, $15 million pillow contract, he’s essentially betting on himself. He believes he can go out and put up solid numbers for the Tigers in 2025 and then cash in on a lucrative multi-year deal in free agency next winter.
However, he was also in a contract year with the Yankees in 2024 and had perhaps the worst offensive season of his career. Something has to give. What’s at least encouraging from the Tigers’ perspective is that after an absolutely abysmal start to the season, Torres finished strong: hitting .298/.365/.421 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in his final 74 games. .
If that’s the player they’re getting, there’s no reason Torres can’t be a viable fantasy asset in 2025. He’s projected to hit second in the Tigers’ lineup between Parker Meadows and Riley Greene. That should lead to solid counting statistics. Torres has always had a passable batting average and his floor should be in the 15-20 home run range.
The wild card for his maximum fantasy value will be how much he runs on the basepaths. Tigers manager AJ Hinch loves to be aggressive on the bases and has given the green light to players he trusts to steal bases. It’s unlikely we’ll see Torres’ velocity drop substantially in his age-28 season, so it’s perfectly reasonable to assume we’ll see an increase in stolen bases after stealing just four bases in seven attempts in 2024. He eclipsed 10 steals in each of the previous three seasons and 10, however, seems like a fair projection for him heading into 2025, although there’s plenty of potential for much more if all goes well for him.
What’s next for the Tigers?
While it’s hard to say exactly what will come next, it appears there are more moves that need to be made to resolve the stalemate in the draw.
That stalemate would intensify if the Tigers finally manage to sign Alex Bregman to a massive multi-year contract and reunite him with his former captain AJ Hinch. It appears the draft is up to the Tigers and Red Sox, while the Mets still lurk in the shadows.
Assuming Bregman spurns the Tigers and signs elsewhere, the next logical move may be to trade Torkelson. It’s hard to see him relegated to just a shortstop role at first base and there would certainly be other organizations around the league that believed they could unlock his potential.
If signing Torres is just the first step in a series of moves that address and improve the overall concerns of the Tigers’ offense, then fans will finally be pleased with the job Scott Harris and company have done this offseason.
If Torres and Cobb are the only major additions, and they’re simply trying to get back with the same team that needed a magical finish to the 2024 season to sneak into the playoffs, it could be another season of complaints and disappointment at Motown. .