One of the most subtle moves of last offseason has a big impact on the 2025 MLB playoffs.
The New York Yankees have opted not to re-sign Gleyber Torres. Instead, he ended up with the Detroit Tigers.
On Wednesday, the Yanks and Tigers are down 2-1 in their respective ALDS series against the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners.
Torres swung the bat well against the Mariners, while the Yankees were dominated in their series.
It’s unclear how things could have been different, but there’s always a chance if Torres had stayed in town, one or both of these series would present themselves in an alternate way.
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Why did the Yankees let Gleyber Torres go to the Tigers?
Torres essentially didn’t fit into the Yankees’ future plans.
He wasn’t going to be the second baseman, because that’s where Jazz Chisholm would play after his acquisition from the Miami Marlins at the 2024 trade deadline.
Reports indicated that Torres was not interested in moving to third base (the Yankees really could have used him there, as they had a revolving door of wrestling at that spot in the first half of the season).
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The Yankees also hadn’t seen the consistent hitter they were looking for. Torres showed occasional hitting in 2024 (16 home runs), but his average fell to .257, and if he wasn’t a plus fielder or base runner, the Yankees weren’t sure it made sense for them.
The Tigers happily purchased an established bat to add to their young core, and Torres put up a solid .745 OPS this season.
Now the Yankees and Tigers wait to see if either team can make a comeback in the ALDS to advance to the next round.
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