Report: Blue Jays, Angels interested in Gleyber Torres
The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels are showing interest in free-agent second baseman Gleyber Torres, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reports.
Torres is a free agent for the first time in his career following a rocky seven-year tenure with the New York Yankees. The 27-year-old was an All-Star in each of his first two seasons but struggled to maintain that consistency in the years that followed.
In 2024, Torres hit .257/.330/.378 with 15 homers and 63 RBIs over 154 games as the Yankees' primary second baseman. He also became a bit of a lightning rod for controversy, first when he got into an on-field argument with teammate Marcus Stroman and then when he was benched in August for a perceived lack of hustle.
Still, he enjoyed a strong finish to the season, posting a .840 OPS over his final 39 games after being moved to the leadoff spot in mid-August. Torres then made some key contributions to the Yankees' playoff run, hitting .241/.348/.397 with two homers and eight RBIs across 14 postseason games.
Torres had a rough year defensively, committing a league-leading 18 errors while tallying minus-11 defensive runs saved and minus-seven outs above average at second base. Based on his struggles at the keystone, it's possible that interested teams might want to try him at another position; Torres does have over 250 games of experience at shortstop but has never played third base in the majors.
The Blue Jays are no doubt familiar with Torres, who's faced them many times over his years with the Yankees and owns a lifetime .807 OPS at Rogers Centre. He'd presumably slot in as their everyday second baseman and form a double-play combo with Bo Bichette. Rookie Will Wagner is currently slated to open the season at second for Toronto, perhaps in a platoon with either Davis Schneider or Leo Jiménez.
In Anaheim, Torres would be a clear upgrade at second, and his presence would allow Luis Rengifo to move into a utility role that might suit him better. Torres or Rengifo might also be candidates to play third regularly depending on the status of Anthony Rendon.