Torres

[Dave]

Jon Morosi

@jonmorosi

·

1m

Gleyber Torres will accept the Tigers’ qualifying offer, source says.

[Roger King]

I was hoping Torres would turn it down. We need some new hitting blood on the roster this coming season to take it to the next level.

I feel like Tigers management is going to bring back McKinstry.  Hopefully not Ibanez too, but if he returns, then we’re not looking at very many openings for hitters at all.

Roger King
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[Paul Meloche]

I don't mind bringing Torres back for a year, but I know what you mean about bringing back the same lineup/no room for the kids or impact FA.

Ibanez has to be gone, right? Max Anderson can do what Ibanez does.

I was down on McKinstry by the time the playoffs rolled around but not only does Hinch love him he had a good season overall even factoring in the second half slump that every Tigers hitter had.

Maybe the Tigers see McGonigle as a 2027 guy, or a mid-season call up vs penciling him in on the 2026 opening day team. Moving on from Meadows seems to be the most realistic way to open up another spot on the roster, but that means Baez is the everyday CF and McGonigle/Mckinstry cover SS/3B.

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[Roger King]

There is certainly an argument for bringing back McKinstry. I was just mentioning him in the context of where is the lineup going to change from last season?

My sense is McGonigle is likely to start the season at Toledo. Just from a couple of things I’ve read recently.

Just to keep it straight, the obvious hitting roster locks are:

Dingler 

Tork

Torres

Baez

Keith

Greene

Carpenter

That’s 7.  A back up catcher (Rogers or someone else) and McKinstry takes it up to 9. 

I’d like to see Jones come back but not sure if that’s happening. He would be 10. Though I have a feeling they’ll want to keep Vierling and let him start with a fresh season, if healthy. Not sure they hang onto Jones in that case.  Vierling can play CF too. 

From there, I’d like to think the other spots are wide open. Guys like Perez and Meadows certainly shouldn’t be locks in my view. And obviously not Sweeney either.

So there are still at least 3 hitting positions open potentially I guess

[Michael W]

Any time you get a 29-year old all-star on a one-year deal it's probably a good thing for the team.  Usually players like that get 3+ years and you are extending into the danger zone.  I know that making the all-star team isn't an infallible indicator of quality.  Nonetheless, Torres is a competent player.

I'm not sure why the market for Torres was expected to be soft (and was genuinely soft last year).  Maybe teams are still judging him on what he isn't (i.e. the player we hoped he would be after 2019), rather than what he actually is.  Torres had a career high OBP in 2025, that might spook some folks because he won't likely repeat it, but his power is fading. 

It might just be that Torres is betting on himself - take the $22M now, have a great year, and take a long-term deal next year.

Michael

[Peter Welch]

I can see why the market was soft for Torres.  He's not versatile defensively (he only plays 2B) and is mediocre-to-below average defensively.  His power seems to be fading and he's not that fast.  I don't think anyone was going to give him $20+ million per season on a multi-year deal.

Torres was having a very good season in 2025 (he deserved his All-Star selection) until trying to play through a painful hernia caused him to fade badly down the stretch.  He was our most reliable hitter at getting on base and putting the ball in play in the 1st half.  As long as he stays healthy he should help the lineup next year.  We need hitters like Torres who can get on base and not strike out excessively.

Torres also allows McGonigle to get experience against AAA pitchers to start next season and allow McGonigle work on his defense at SS in AAA.  If McGonigle is dominating AAA pitchers he'll be called up soon enough.   Although, I still think McGonigle might make the Opening Day roster next year if the Tigers think he can handle playing shortstop competently.

With Torres returning, it will be interesting to see how much room there is for Keith/McKinstry/Anderson at 3B.  I guess Baez and McKinstry will be splitting time at SS unless McGonigle is allowed to play SS eventually.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 4:42 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Torres

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/detroit-tigers/eabfb0aa-5a74-4736-9c85-719ff2ed61e3n%40googlegroups.com.

[Michael W]

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Tigers should trade an infielder.  Between Baez, Torres, Keith, McKinstry, Anderson, McGonigle, and Hao-Yu Lee, there isn’t enough room for everyone.  Trading for a good player at another position makes sense.  They already released Mendoza, and he was only due to play at Toledo.

Michael 

[Michael W]

Assuming McGonigle is untouchable, Keith would have the highest trade value.  You could get a quality player in exchange.  You could also trade Tork to free up a spot for Keith.

Trading Torres is also possible.  It seems odd, but the “qualifying offer” might have been more about relative value than that they desperately wanted him.

Michael 

[Paul Meloche]

I’m not against trading anyone if the deal makes us better, but Keith would be tough. He’s young, on a team friendly deal, has some defensive versatility although admittedly not playing any position particularly well, and showed improvement at the plate in 2025 year over year. 

I do agree we have a surplus of particularly 2B/3B types. One or more is probably part of a trade at some point. 

Paul M.

On Nov 18, 2025, at 4:54 PM, Michael W <miw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Assuming McGonigle is untouchable, Keith would have the highest trade value.  You could get a quality player in exchange.  You could also trade Tork to free up a spot for Keith.

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[Michael W]

Paul writes:

>[trading] Keith would be tough. He’s young, on a team 

>friendly deal, has some defensive 

>versatility […] and showed improvement at the plate

Ha!  That’s why he has trade value!  I don’t think we’d get a lot for Ibanez :-)

Michael 

[Paul Meloche]

I think we're on the same side here, just expressing it differently. I'm not against trading Keith if it makes us better long term. Maybe a MLB rotation ready starter and a CF prospect? Perhaps I'm overvaluing him with that return, but point is don't give him away just for the sake of opening up a spot for a minor leaguer but if we can fill holes AND give someone like Lee/Anderson/McGonigle a clear path to regular playing time with the big club I'd hope Harris would consider that deal.

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[Roger King]

Ibanez is a free agent so the Tigers would have to sign him first in order to trade him :-)

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[Peter Welch]

I don't like how they are turning Keith into a platoon player against righties.  Seems to diminish his value as well.
He hit lefties ok in the minors and he hit lefties well as a rookie with Detroit.  Just let him play.  

Of course, you could say the same thing about Carpenter.

Riley Greene gets to play against lefties (despite struggling against them), and Tork gets to play against righties even though he's much worse against righties, but Carpenter and Keith don't get the same favor.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2025 10:54 AM
To: Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
Cc: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Torres

 

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