Free agent second baseman Gleyber Torres is getting attention from multiple teams, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (X link), with the Angels cited as a new suitor. The Blue Jays were also mentioned, and while Toronto’s interest in Torres dates back to early November, Morosi’ report today was published before the Jays seemingly addressed their second base by acquiring Andres Gimenez.
An inconsistent 2024 season led Torres with a .257/.330/.378 slash line over 665 plate appearances in his walk year, as well as 15 home runs for the pennant-winning Yankees. This works out to a 104 wRC+ that is slightly above league-average offensive production, but also a step down from the 118 wRC+ that Torres posted over the 2022-23 seasons. Torres’ 35.4% hard-hit ball rate and 6.3% barrel rate were both career-lows of a full season, and he saw his strikeout rate drop back to average-ish career norms after a great year of avoiding swings and misses in 2023.
This doesn’t tell the full story of Torres’ 2024 campaign, however, as his numbers were diminished by an ugly early-season slump that cost him the leadoff spot in the Yankees’ lineup. Getting regularly slotted back into the leadoff spot in mid-August seemed to restore Torres’ confidence — he hit .236/.309/.349 slash line in his first 481 PA, but .313/.386/.454 in 184 PA from August 16 until the end of the season. Torres continued to hit well during the ALDS and ALCS before the Dodgers’ pitching cooled off his bat during the World Series.
Finishing strong gives Torres some level of momentum heading into free agency, but clubs must have some natural concerns over the dropoff in Torres’ power. Home run pop and a decent walk rate are Torres’ bread and butter, as public defensive metrics have graded his second-base glovework as subpar across the board in each of the last two seasons.
On the plus side, Torres is still only a couple of days short of his 28th birthday. A case can be made that a change of scenery might be beneficial, as Torres was often a target of fan criticism during his up-and-down seven-season run in the Bronx. Moving from New York to Los Angeles would technically be a lateral move in terms of market size, but obviously the Angels have a much lower profile, as the team is mired in a string of nine straight losing seasons and is playing second fiddle to the Dodgers within the area.
MLBTR ranked Torres 20th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, with a very fluid projection of a two-year, $36MM deal. It is easy to imagine Torres taking even a one-year deal with the intention of testing the market again after a strong 2025 season, or he might prefer to lock in the security of a longer-term contract if such an offer is on the table. The free agent market for second basemen isn’t exactly deep, plus second base-needy teams like the Blue Jays (with Gimenez), Giants (by signing Willy Adames and moving Tyler Fitzgerald to second base), Royals (Jonathan India), and Rockies (Thairo Estrada) have already addressed the position in other ways. A reunion with the Yankees has never seemed likely.
Luis Rengifo is penciled in as the Angels’ top second base option at the moment, but Rengifo’s versatility would allow him to be deployed in plenty of other ways if Los Angeles brought Torres into the fold. Rengifo could play shortstop until Zach Neto is healthy, or get more work at third base given the Angels’ willingness to either move Anthony Rendon to other positions or perhaps reduce Rendon’s playing time entirely.
Despite the questions that exist about Torres’ bat, it still feels like he would help an Angels lineup that was one of the worst in baseball in 2024. The Halos have been aggressive in trying to upgrade their roster this winter, already bolstering the lineup with Jorge Soler and Travis d’Arnaud and bringing Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks into the rotation. Owner Arte Moreno has traditionally been wary about the luxury tax threshold, but RosterResource’s estimate of a current $207.1MM tax number still leaves L.A. with plenty of room for more additions before approaching the $241MM tax line.
If he played half the games at the Yankees’ and put up 1.8 War what would his production at the Angels stadium be?
Well a quick look at his splits last year shows that he hit better on the road than he did at Yankee Stadium
Go West young man
Deal that includes an opt out after 25 seems likely. Knowing the Angels, it might be an eight year deal with opt outs every season. LOL
Is he really? There have been tons of rumors so far and this is the first mention of him.
I assumed he’d get like 1 year/$20M to 2 years/$35M to 3 years/$49.5M from a club desperate to look like they’re trying to be competitive but can’t afford or don’t want to spend on the real top tier free agents…
I wouldn’t be shocked to see the A’s offer him like 6 years/$90M haha.
In all seriousness I think the current make up and massive holes the Angels have in their roster would make him a perfect mirage free agent smash for them- they look like they’re trying to improve the club and spend money but they know it’s cheaper to pay him $30M to $100M than to try a Pujols or Rendon type deal again any time soon.
That said- they’re supposedly in the running for Arenado, who would be way more expensive but also more productive, even with his diminishing returns and being twice the price annually.
2 years/$70M for Arenado or 2 years/$35M for Gleyber. or even 6 years/$90M for Gleyber- or whatever it’d end up being.
Plus- Arenado has a really complex deal with many years of deferments, etc. and I kinda wonder if the Angels would prefer something straight up with Gleyber where he’s off the books in 2-6 years at the conclusion of any contract he’d sign with them, because his total annual salary would be equivalent to Arenado’s annual base salaries.
Not sure the Angels could lower Rendon’s playing time any lower than what it has been.