Tigers analyst brings negatives of Gleyber Torres' $15,000,000 move to Detroit into focus

The Detroit Tigers signed Gleyber Torres on a $15 million deal to bolster their infield, which was out of sorts for the better part of 2024. The former New York Yankees second baseman is coming off a .257 season but despite his decent offensive stats, there are skeptics in the Tigers community.

On the "Tigers Territory" podcast, Cody Stavenhagen and cohost Kieran Steckley discussed Detroit's new signing. As per Stavenhagen, despite the Tigers needing much of the offense that Torres provides, he will most likely not be a fit in the city and the team's fans.

A bigger point of concern is his defensive abilities, which were seriously jolted this past year, and there have been questions raised on his base running as well. Stavenhagen said:

"I worry fans are not going to take to Gleyber Torres because Yankee fans didn’t necessarily, and part of that was the high expectations he set for himself by hitting 36 homers or 38 homers at age 22 and then never quite getting back to that level. But part of it, he's just a negative defender almost year in and year out.

"He's not a good defensive second baseman, and one of the worst base runners in Major League Baseball. That runs pretty counter to what we've heard about how much the Tigers care about base running and winning on the margins. Now, he can be prone to just some mental lapses." [5:20]

Gleyber Torres has already contacted Tigers infield coach

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris opened up about Torres knowing the need to improve. He is aware of his defensive troubles and is ready to work on them, having already had discussions with infield coach Joey Cora.

“He had a lot of opportunity to go to different places this winter on longer deals than the one he took,” Harris said, “but his agents were very up front with me about his desire to bet on himself, and honestly, that made me want him more. He’s had multiple conversations with [infield coach] Joey Cora about his defense.

There is uncertainty about whether the Tigers will remove primary 2B for 2024, Colt Keith from his position. Keith reportedly has issues with an elbow injury and could be required to take up first base duties leaving it open for Torres to slot in at the middle of the diamond.