Detroit Tigers newcomer Gleyber Torres was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela.
At age 14, Torres moved approximately 75 miles within Venezuela, from Caracas to Maracay, to attend a baseball academy with connections to MLB scouts. At age 16, Torres signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs as one of the top international prospects.
Torres, now a 28-year-old second baseman who spent the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the New York Yankees, has been welcomed into the Tigers’ organization by Venezuelan legend Miguel Cabrera after signing a one-year, $15 million contract.
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“Since 2018, when I came to the big leagues, I started getting a really good relationship with him,” Torres said Saturday, one day after signing his contract for 2025. “When we played against each other during the season, he always played around with me and would always tell me, ‘Come to Detroit, and you’re going to see a really good team.’ He would always just laugh.”
Cabrera, born and raised in Maracay, retired from his career as a baseball player after 16 seasons with the Tigers (following five seasons with the Florida Marlins), but he called Torres to congratulate him on joining the Tigers.
They were teammates in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
“When I signed, he called me,” Torres said. “He gave me really good information about the team, the organization and the city. I feel really happy.”
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Cabrera, 41, has been a special assistant in the Tigers’ front office since retiring after the 2023 season from his 21-year MLB career, finishing with a .306 batting average, 511 home runs and 3,174 hits. He is expected to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2029, possibly unanimously.
Cabrera spent one week as a coach in spring training before the 2024 season.
“I know Miggy did an amazing job basically his entire career as a Tiger,” Torres said. “I feel happy to get this opportunity to play in this great organization. I’ve been talking with Miggy. I’m really excited to meet my new team and get ready to go.”
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Torres also has a close relationship with Victor Martinez, a fellow Venezuelan and a former Tiger.
Martinez, now 46, played for Detroit from 2011-18 as part of his 16-year MLB career, in which he had a .295 batting average with 2,153 hits and 246 home runs. The Tigers won four consecutive American League Central championships from 2011-14, with Martinez (and Cabrera) on the roster.
“He always tells me really good things about Detroit,” Torres said.
But Torres didn’t reach out to Cabrera or Martinez before signing with the Tigers.
He talked to Gio Urshela.
They were teammates with the Yankees from 2019-21.
Urshela, a Colombian-born infielder and a nine-year MLB veteran, spent more than four months with the Tigers in the 2024 season. The 33-year-old was cut by the Tigers in mid-August, then latched on with the Atlanta Braves for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
“My boy Urshela,” Torres said. “When I told him I started getting in conversations with Detroit, he always told me really good things about the team.”
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Torres has only played for the Yankees in the big leagues, but he already has key connections to the Tigers through his network of friendships, including Cabrera.
He’s ready to make even more connections in Detroit.
“I’m really excited to get working together with all the boys,” Torres said.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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