The right side of the Detroit Tigers infield is changing.
The biggest news: Second baseman Colt Keith is moving to first base for the 2025 season, thus creating a spot for newcomer Gleyber Torres to take over as the everyday second baseman. As a result, former No. 1 overall draft pick Spencer Torkelson is likely to wind up in Triple-A Toledo to start the season.
The Tigers signed Torres — a 28-year-old right-handed hitter who spent the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the New York Yankees — to a one-year, $15 million contract Friday, making him the new second baseman.
“We’re really excited to add Gleyber to our mix,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Friday. “He’s a two-time All-Star who, at 28 years old, is still in his prime.”
The deal includes a $500,000 assignment bonus payable only if the Tigers trade Torres. If the Tigers keep him and he has a career-best season, they could extend a one-year qualifying offer after the season. (This offseason, the qualifying offer was $21.05 million.) If Torres declines the offer and signs with a new team, the Tigers would receive draft pick compensation.
“We think he can get better on both sides of the ball,” Harris said. “Gleyber believes that, too. He had a lot of opportunity to go to different places on longer deals than he took, but his agents were really upfront with me about his desire to bet on himself, and honestly, that made me want him more.”
THE DEAL:Tigers sign infielder Gleyber Torres to 1-year, $15 million contract
The Tigers designated for assignment left-handed reliever Bailey Horn, whom they claimed off waivers in mid-November from the Boston Red Sox, to create room for Torres on the 40-man roster.
The 40-man roster remains full.
“We were very aggressive to try to land it,” Harris said of signing Torres to a one-year contract. “I was on the phone for most of Christmas Eve, which my family didn’t really appreciate, but we feel like we got better. Adding Gleyber made us better.”
By signing Torres, the Tigers locked in the right side of their infield for 2025’s Opening Day with Torres at second base and Keith at first base, and both serving as everyday players.
In 2024, Torres hit .257 with 15 home runs, 65 walks (9.8% walk rate) and 136 strikeouts (20.5% strikeout rate) across 154 games, exclusively at second base. On defense, he was worth minus-11 defensive runs saved and minus-4 outs above average.
Harris called Torkelson and Keith before the Torres signing became official.
“I wanted them to hear it directly from me,” Harris said.
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Torkelson has been the Tigers’ primary first baseman for the past three seasons, but poor performance has forced a pair of demotions to Triple-A Toledo. The 25-year-old owns a disappointing .221 batting average with a .693 OPS in 361 games throughout his MLB career, spanning 1,469 plate appearances.
Moving forward, Keith has replaced Torkelson at first base.
“My message to Tork was, if you have a big offseason and a big spring training, there’s a role for you on this team,” Harris said. “This team needs more right-handed power, and we’ve seen Tork do that in the past.”
The only pathway for Torkelson to earn a role on the Tigers’ Opening Day roster is as the primary designated hitter and backup first baseman. He won’t be introduced to new positions.
Meanwhile, Keith has been taking ground balls at first base since the beginning of the offseason. The 23-year-old has been in communication with infield coach Joey Cora, specifically working on footwork around the base and decision-making with throws.
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He has previous experience at third base, but he won’t play he won’t play there because of injury concerns with the labrum in his right shoulder.
In 2025, Keith will play first base for the first time in his professional career.
“When I shared that with him, he was immediately fired up,” Harris said. “He was like, ‘Hey, I’ll play anywhere. I just want to win.’ It was a reminder of the unselfishness that I see with a lot of our players that gives us a real edge.”
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Matt Vierling, Jace Jung and Zach McKinstry are the frontrunners in competition for playing time at third base, while Javier Báez and Trey Sweeney project for platoon roles at shortstop, with Sweeney facing right-handed pitchers.
The Tigers have concerns about Jung’s defense at third base.
It’s unclear if the Tigers remain interested in free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman.
“I can’t comment on any current free agent,” Harris said, when asked about Bregman. “I can just tell you we are already working to continue to get better. We are trying to find ways to make this organization better. We feel like we already did with Alex Cobb and Gleyber Torres, but we’re going to find ways to continue to get better.
“If you remember, we signed guys when we were already in Lakeland last year and the year before. We’re going to keep working. You guys know me — I can’t really sit on my hands, so I’m going to try to continue to help this group get better. But I really like where we’re at right now.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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