One of this website’s ongoing thesis statements has long focused on the relationship between the New York Yankees and Gleyber Torres. Whatever transpired, it just ended up not working out, everyone was underwhelmed, and Torres left for the Detroit Tigers this offseason.
Torres and the Yankees exchanged what we hope were the last of the barbs between the two parties, and everyone’s largely been better off. Torres is thriving in his new home and the Yankees are an absolute wagon.
Would it be nice to have this version of Torres right now in New York? Yes. It’s what fans were dying for once his play began to decline in 2020. But at the very least, the former All-Star is unleashing his abilities on the Red Sox — a familiar opponent he has had success against across 102 career games.
On Monday night, Torres and the Tigers routed Boston by a score of 14-2. The second baseman got the scoring started with a mammoth two-run homer off Tanner Houck in the first inning. He later added an RBI single and finished the game going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, three RBI and a walk.
If Torres is going to play incredibly well to spite the Yankees, it might as well come at the expense of the Red Sox, too.
Gleyber Torres demolishes a 432-foot tank 😤 pic.twitter.com/RP2KMSEkEN
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1922062092477079883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Former Yankee Gleyber Torres absolutely shreds Red Sox in Monday night Tigers win
Torres might’ve gotten a lot of flak during his Yankees tenure, but he was extremely productive against the Yankees’ AL East rivals with the exception of the Rays. With Monday night’s numbers in the books, Torres improved his stats to .289/.355/.493 with 18 homers, 67 RBI and 10 stolen bases against the Red Sox dating back to 2018.
We’ve got two games left, Gleyber! Bury them! If there was ever a time for Yankees fans to come together on the polarizing topic of Gleyber Torres, it’s now.
https://twitter.com/tigers/status/1922074781140013506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1922074781140013506%7Ctwgr%5E7c48e34eb5cf03a3d5a01e8f3b375e0c0bbe2dc6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fyanksgoyard.com%2Fgleyber-torres-absolutely-punishing-red-sox-brings-tear-to-yankees-fans-eyes
On the season with the Tigers, Torres has registered a 1.2 WAR because of his incredible offensive display. He’s hitting .304 with an .857 OPS and 145 OPS+ across 29 games. He has 12 walks to 11 strikeouts. And he’s only made one error at second base in 213 innings.
Yankees fans will inevitably lose their minds when he cashes in against the Bombers (he missed the first matchup as he was on the injured list), but most are certainly glad he’s doing better and taking it to a former hated rival to help tip the AL East scales.
