Detroit Tigers: Is it too late to try and trade for Gleyber Torres?

The Detroit Tigers should consider trading for infielder Gleyber Torres from the New York Yankees. There, I said it. It’s not the first time Torres’s name had come up surrounding the Tigers organization, since he was slated to be acquired when Michael Fulmer’s name was in the trade circuits years ago.

However, its an instance of coulda, shoulda, woulda for the Detroit Tigers, who never pulled the trigger on the deal. Looking back, Torres had two years of regression after looking like he would be their shortstop of the future in the Bronx.

On the other hand, Fulmer had his own roller coaster that has led to him having an undefined role with the Tigers, with closing being in the mix or simply being a reliable high-leverage arm. So, neither player was the coveted ace or future star shortstop that was expected out of them as things stand.

Is it time for the Tigers to make a run at Torres once again? There are a few caveats to this and things that need to happen. It’s a series of hypotheticals that make it look like an attractive deal, but a fresh start for Torres may do him well.

The Detroit Tigers should check in on infielder Gleyber Torres.

The New York Yankees have made a few offseason moves, mostly hoping to land Carlos Correa, which they fell short on accomplishing. They have still been tied to shortstop Trevor Story. They also loaded up their infield with Josh Donaldson and added Isiah Kiner-Falefa in their blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Twins.

Their infield now contains Anthony Rizzo at first, Josh Donaldson at third, Kiner-Falefa at shortstop, and Gleyber Torres at second base. This leaves D.J. Lemahieu to head to the bench, move to the outfield, or choose to sit Kiner-Falefa, which is what I would do.

The previous paragraph was put together with FanGraphs 2022 depth chart predictions. They have Lemahieu sitting on the bench alongside Miguel Andújar, who was also a mainstay in the Yankees infield in recent years.

The infield depth is great, but moving on from Torres and adding to their team in other places may be worth considering. That being said, if the Yankees do not add another piece, a trade could still be in the works, and the Tigers should be looking to poach Torres and hope to give him a new home and fresh start.

Torres may not be the best performer as of recent, coming off a 2021 season where he slashed just .259/.331/.366 with nine home runs and 51 RBI over 516 plate appearances. While the Tigers have their own logjam in the infield with the addition of Javier Báez, the Báez/Torres middle infield combination would lead to some changes.

Shifting things around and leaving room for Spencer Torkelson (if he makes the team out of camp, which it seems like he will) would require Jonathan Schoop to be versatile. But having Torres on this roster would make the Tigers better and has to be something they explore.

While his performance has not measured up super well in the last two seasons, a change of scenery and a new team might knock him back on track.