DETROIT -- Just before Gleyber Torres hits the free-agent market, he hit the operating table. The infielder who helped lead the Tigers to their second straight AL Division Series berth underwent surgery on Friday to repair a sports hernia that had been bothering him for most of the second half of the season.
Torres’ representatives announced the successful surgery on social media Friday morning. He is expected to be healthy for the start of Spring Training in a few months.
Torres revealed the injury after the Tigers’ season ended in Seattle with a loss in Game 5 of the ALDS. It helped explain Torres’ late-season struggles after a strong first half that earned him the start at second base in the All-Star Game:
1st half (84 games): .281/.387/.425, nine home runs, 16 doubles, 45 RBIs, 46 strikeouts
2nd half (61 games): .223/.320/.339, seven home runs, six doubles, 29 RBIs, 55 strikeouts
Postseason (eight games): .235/.316/.382, one home run, two doubles, one RBI, 10 strikeouts
Torres held off on surgery until season’s end to help the Tigers through their playoff push.
“It was not really good. From the [start of the] second half, I was in a lot of pain,” Torres admitted after their 15-inning loss in Seattle. “[The trainers and medical staff did] a really good job keeping me playing. It's not about numbers, it's about playing every day, and we do whatever we do at the moment to keep playing every day.”
The Tigers were kept up to date on Torres’ situation. President of baseball operations Scott Harris and manager A.J. Hinch said at their season-ending news conference that there was no talk of shutting Torres down for surgery, let alone regulating his playing time.
“Gleyber was up front and honest about reporting that to us,” Harris said. “We felt like he still was capable of being a solid addition to our team. You saw him go oppo [for a home run during the Division Series] at home, which is really hard to do. He’s a big part of what we did this year. We’re really happy with his performance. … We wish he wasn’t banged up in the second half, but we thought that he was still a big part of our team.”
Said Hinch: “We were communicating every day with Gleyber. … I got him an extra day or two off. How do you think we would have all responded if I just gave Gleyber Torres a random day off in September, when we went 7-17? He would not have had it. That dude would have been right in my office asking what the hell’s wrong with me.”
Torres signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Tigers last December looking for a bounce-back after a rough 2024 season with the Yankees. He got with a 2.9 bWAR campaign, batting .256/.338/.387 with a 108 OPS+, 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 74 RBIs in 145 games.
Torres’ rehab will come during his second run at free agency. The Tigers can extend a qualifying offer to Torres -- a one-year, $22,025,000 deal – until the fifth day following the end of the World Series. Torres would then have 10 days to accept or decline it. If he declines it and signs somewhere else, the Tigers would be line for a compensatory Draft pick late in the first or second round.
Torres at season’s end expressed interest in returning to Detroit, but he's also interested in a longer-term contract. The Tigers have options at second base, including Colt Keith, top prospect Kevin McGonigle and fellow prospects Hao-Yu Lee and Max Anderson.