Former Yankee Gleyber Torres agrees to deal with Detroit Tigers

The Yankees’ hole at second base will not be filled by the player who manned the position for them for the better part of the last seven seasons.

Gleyber Torres agreed to a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers on Friday morning. ESPN reported the deal to be worth $15 million.

"The Yankees were my family since 2016," Torres wrote in a post on X. "A simple boy from Venezuela with great aspirations to play in the most epic city in the world, the Yankees gave me all the love and support I needed to achieve my childhood dream. Wearing pinstripes was an honor for me and my family."

Torres ended the post by writing "Thank you New York Yankees."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had discussions with Torres’ representation earlier in the offseason that at best could be described as casual, but the 28-year-old's return was always a long shot at best.

Though his time in pinstripes could hardly be described as a disaster, Torres’ rough 2024 — coming in his walk year before free agency — had the Yankees more than ready to move on.

The Yankees acknowledged the departure of Torres with posts on their social media accounts.

"Thank you for everything, Gleyber," the posts said.

Torres, in addition to having one of his worst years in the field, hit a disappointing .257 with 15 homers, 63 RBIs and a .709 OPS last season. He did excel down the stretch after being put in the leadoff spot on Aug. 16, hitting .313 with an .840 OPS in the final 39 games of the regular season.

"One of the reasons we got as far as we did,” Cashman said in early November at the annual general managers' meetings in San Antonio. “I appreciate his efforts while he was here and he was mashing down the stretch like we needed him to be. But again, everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, but I'm not going to dissect what's best moving forward . . .  We're just obviously gonna make the best decisions we can from what's available from within or outside. We can import a third baseman and move Jazz [Chisholm Jr.] over [to second]."

Torres angered some in the organization just before the 2024 trade deadline by publicly declaring “I’m a second baseman” when the possibility of moving to third was broached. Shortly after that, he was benched briefly for a lack of hustle.

Torres, acquired as the centerpiece of the Aroldis Chapman trade with the Cubs at the 2016 trade deadline, made it clear last February where he hoped to continue and ultimately finish his big-league career. “I want to be a Yankee for life,” he said shortly after position players reported for spring training.

 Torres, considered among the top position-player prospects in the sport in 2016 when the Yankees traded for him, never did fully recapture the promise shown in his first two full seasons in 2018 and 2019, when he was named to the American League All-Star team.

Torres hit a combined .275 with 62 homers, 167 RBIs and an .849 OPS those first two seasons, including 38 homers in 144 games in 2019. He hit a combined .261 with 76 homers, 274 RBIs and a .743 OPS in five subsequent seasons.

It's not clear what position Torres will play for the Tigers. Colt Keith was their starting second baseman last season, hitting .260 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 148 games as a rookie. Torres spent most of his Yankees career at second base, playing in 615 games there, but also can play shortstop, appearing in 252 games at the position from 2018-22 for the Yankees. The Tigers also have shortstop Javier Baez.

The Yankees entered the offseason with the preference of moving Chisholm, acquired last July from the Marlins to play third, back to his more natural position at second and acquiring a third baseman either via trade or from the free-agent market.

“Just not too sure what we're going to do just yet,” Cashman said at the GM meetings of his vacancy at second base. “But I want to thank Gleyber for the time while he was here without closing any doors either on a reunion."

That door predictably and officially closed Friday.