Free Agent Profile: Gleyber Torres, 2B

Free Agent Profile: Gleyber Torres, 2B

Position: 2B B/T: R/R
Player Data: Age: 28 (12/13/1996)

2025 Traditional Stats: 145 G, 628 PA, .256/.358/.387/.745, 132 H, 16 HR, 74 RBI
2025 Advanced Stats: 113 wRC+, 16.1 K%, 13.5 BB%, .284 BABIP, .371 xwOBA, 2.6 fWAR

Rundown

Gleyber Torres had a strong season for the Tigers, helping them clinch a playoff spot for the second consecutive year. Torres signed a one-year pillow deal worth $15 million, with the hope that a fresh start could net him a bigger payday this offseason. Gleyber finished with a 2.9 bWAR and a 2.6 fWAR in 145 games, had a 113 wRC+, and his underlying metrics suggest that he was quite unlucky. Torres had a .387 SLG but had an xSLG of .473.

Torres also fully committed to a contact-first approach with reduced chase and K rates, all the while hitting 16 HR in a less friendly hitting environment than Yankee Stadium. This new approach has been a multi-year evolution. In 2022, Torres was below average in BB rate and K rate (32nd percentile and 41st percentile). In 2025, Gleyber was 1 of 2 players to be 80 percentile or better in Chase rate, Whiff rate, K rate, and BB rate. Many other elite hitters, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, Ketel Marte, Juan Soto, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., were close, but only Geraldo Perdomo and Torres achieved this elite swing decision combo.

Gleyber Torres was a highly touted prospect that the Yankees acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the 2016 trade deadline in exchange for Aroldis Chapman. In his first two seasons, Torres was one of the best second basemen in the game. Torres was at his best in 2019 when he hit 38 HR’s and had a 125 WRC+. In the ensuing seasons, Torres never quite lived up to his 2019 season. In his final four full seasons with the Yankees, Torres averaged 18 HR’s with a 107 WRC+. However, Torres’ approach following a benching for lack of hustle in August of 2024 triggered an approach change that paid dividends in 2025.

Contract

Spotrac.com currently values Torres as a $14 million AAV player heading into the 2026 seasons, and has him signing a four-year, $55 million contract. 

That isn’t a meager contract, plus on the surface, Torres seems like an odd fit with the current Mets position player group. However, for a team with a number of high strikeout players in the middle of their lineup, Brett Baty (26 percentile in K%), Brandon Nimmo (48th percentile), Francisco Alvarez (26th percentile), Mark Vientos (28th percentile), having a patient, contact-approach in the middle of that stretch could potentially help the Mets avoid the peaks and valleys of offensive production the team experienced in 2025.

The fit for the Mets isn’t apparent, but Torres’ contact approach and power potential are intriguing for a lineup that struggled with runners in scoring position for the first half of last season.

As of 2025, the only positions Torres has played are second base and shortstop, with Torres last manning shortstop in 2022.

Recommendation 

Ultimately, I wouldn’t be comfortable giving Torres a 3-4 year deal worth an average annual value of $14 million. Torres is entering his age-29 season, and despite showing clear changes to his approach last year, his fit doesn’t make sense for a team littered with infielders that is trying to get better defensively.

 

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