After capping the 2024 season with a magical 30-11 postseason run and defeating the Astros in the Wild Card Series to advance to the ALDS, many expected the up-and-coming Tigers to be extremely active in the free agency in 2025. agent market would be.

As of Friday, however, their only major league signing of the winter was a one-year, $15 million deal with aging right-hander Alex Cobb. Not exactly the big impact the Tigers supporters were hoping for.

There have been rumors in recent days that he is one of the two (or three) finalists for Alex Bregman, but he is expected to receive a contract worth $200 million and it seems unlikely that Scott Harris and Co. want to conclude such a contract based on long-term commitment.

That sentiment was reflected again on Friday when the Tigers opted to shop the discounts instead — agreeing to a one-year, $15 million deal with free agent infielder Gleyber Torres.

What can we expect from Gleyber Torres?

Great question, I’m glad you asked. The 28-year-old infielder, once considered one of the top prospects in baseball (and one the Tigers nearly acquired for Michael Fulmer in 2018), showed flashes but mostly failed to live up to his lofty expectations.

His best season as a pro came as a 22-year-old in 2019, when he slashed .278/.337/.535 with career-highs of 38 home runs and 90 RBI in 144 games with the Yankees. He tried to recapture that magical feeling.

Torres remained healthy throughout the 2024 season, hitting a mediocre .257/.330/.378 with just 15 home runs, 63 RBI, four stolen bases (in seven attempts) and a K/BB ratio of 136/65. His strikeout rate increased from 14.6 percent to 20.5 percent while his power production dropped significantly. This is underpinned by a decline in his average exit velocity and his worst barrel rate (6.3 percent) since the shortened 2020 season.

He is considered a below-average shortstop defender and had already turned down a deal with the Nationals this winter because he didn’t want to move to third base. This means we can expect him to serve as the Tigers’ regular second baseman for the 2025 season.

But don’t the Tigers already have a second baseman?

What happens to Colt Keith?

The Tigers appeared to have already secured their second base position when they signed Colt Keith to a six-year, $28.6 million contract before he even made his big league debut last season. The 23-year-old slugger got off to an extremely slow start at the plate, but had a very strong rookie season overall – hitting .260/.309/.380 with 13 home runs, 61 RBI and seven stolen bases.

Keith is certain to retain a starting position in the Tigers’ infield, but with Torres now scheduled at second base, where should he go? He was drafted as a third baseman and played hot corner primarily in the minor leagues before moving to second base. However, the team states that they would rather not let him play there due to concerns about injury to his throwing shoulder.

The most logical move for Keith would be to move to first base – a position they had mentioned would give him work during spring training anyway. However, if he becomes the team’s regular first baseman…

What happens to Spencer Torkelson?

At the moment it looks like he could end up being the underdog. A former first overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Torkelson had a huge breakthrough in 2023 when he hit 31 home runs and drove in 94 runs. However, his performance dipped in 2024 and he spent a few months at Triple-A Toledo in the middle of the season working on things.

Ultimately, the 25-year-old slugger hit a putrid .219/.295/.374 with just 10 home runs, 37 RBI and a 105/33 K/BB ratio in 381 plate appearances.

Given Torkelson’s struggles, it makes sense to have a contingency plan in case he goes cold again in 2025. However, are they willing to write him off completely? With the addition of Torres, the infield mix will certainly become crowded and something will have to give. It’s always possible that the Tigers shop Torkelson to find pitching help, but if they do that, they’ll be selling for pennies on the dollar and another team would reap the potential reward.

How does Jace Jung fit in?

Another interesting question. With the current state of their roster, it seems like Jung and Matt Vierling will be split at the hot corner, with Jung starting against most righties and Vierling moving out of the outfield when they face righties.

I don’t think the addition of Torres necessarily hurts Jung, but we won’t know for sure until the offseason is over. It’s entirely possible that the Tigers still pursue Bregman even after signing Torres. In this case, Jung would be completely blocked at third base.

The 24-year-old held his own in his first big league appearance, hitting .241/.362/.304 and posting an impressive 16.0 percent walk rate to offset his 30.9 percent strikeout rate. Jung showed exceptional strength in the minor leagues, and while it wasn’t reflected in his 94 plate appearance pattern, it should show over a full season in 2025.

Assuming he has a place to play. For now, we’re keeping his playing time projections as they were before signing Torres, but Bregman could come along and completely change everything. In that case, Jung would either be relegated back to Triple-A or be on the shopping block like his buddy Torkelson.

How does this affect Gleyber Torres’ fantasy value?

It’s really hard to see. On the surface, one could easily say that he will see a downgrade in his overall supporting cast and a massive downgrade in the park factor as he moves from Yankee Stadium to Comerica Park. These are legitimate assumptions.

I think in the end it will come down to how motivated Torres is. By signing a one-year, $15 million pillow deal, he is essentially betting on himself. He believes he can put up strong numbers for the Tigers in 2025 and then a lucrative multi-year deal in free agency next winter can benefit from it.

However, he also had a contract year with the Yankees in 2024 and delivered perhaps the worst offensive season of his career. Something has to give. What’s at least encouraging from the Tigers’ perspective is that after an absolutely miserable start to the season, Torres finished strong – with eight home runs and 34 RBI in his last 74 games.

If that’s the player they’re getting, there’s no reason Torres can’t be a viable fantasy asset in 2025. He is expected to slot second in the Tigers’ lineup between Parker Meadows and Riley Greene. This should result in strong counting stats. Torres has always delivered a passable batting average and his batting average should be somewhere in the 15-20 home run range.

The wild card for his ultimate fantasy value will be how much he runs on the basepaths. Tigers manager AJ Hinch loves to be aggressive on the bases and has given the green light to players he trusts to steal bases. Torres’ velocity is unlikely to decline significantly in his age-28 season, so it’s entirely reasonable to assume we’ll see an uptick in stolen bases after he swiped just four bags in seven attempts in 2024. He excelled in each of the 10 steals but three seasons prior and ten seems like a fair prediction for him heading into 2025, although there’s still plenty of potential for even more if everything works out for him.

What’s next for the Tigers?

While it’s difficult to say exactly what comes next, it appears that more steps need to be taken to clear the infield logjam.

This stalemate would only get worse if the Tigers ultimately manage to sign Alex Bregman to a huge multi-year deal and reunite him with his former captain AJ Hinch. It sounds like the Tigers and Red Sox are the winners, with the Mets still lurking in the shadows.

Assuming Bregman spurns the Tigers and signs elsewhere, the next logical step might be to trade Torkelson. It’s hard to imagine him being relegated to just a short-side platoon role at first base, and there would certainly be other organizations around the league that thought they could unlock his potential.

If signing Torres is just the first step in a series of moves that address and improve the Tigers’ overall offense, then fans will ultimately be pleased with the work Scott Harris and Co. have done this offseason have.

If Torres and Cobb are the only big additions and they simply try to come back with the same team that needed a magical finish to the 2024 season to get into the playoffs, Motown could be in for another season of problems and disappointments.