Behind the Tigers’ strong start is Gleyber Torres’ subtle leadership

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DETROIT — A couple of hours before every game, the Detroit Tigers hold a hitters meeting. Coaches go over notes on the opposing pitcher. Hitters refine their plans of attack. And usually, someone will hold up a hand or stand in front of the room and offer a deeper perspective.

Lately, Gleyber Torres has been that person.

Although he is only 28 years old, Torres is in his eighth MLB season. He has been through the battles, played in All-Star games and the World Series. He has been under an intense spotlight since he was 21.

The former New York Yankee knows what it is like to be both a darling in the Bronx and a target of scorn. Through it all, he has seen pitchers all across the league. Picked up on their tendencies. Catalogued the notes in his mind.

“His Rolodex of information is really high,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.

Last week, the Tigers faced Padres starter Nick Pivetta, formerly of the Red Sox. This weekend, the Tigers swept the Baltimore Orioles, Torres’ longtime AL East foe. The small trinkets of insight Torres offered — maybe perspective on how a pitcher attacks when behind in the count, perhaps a visual cue to pick up a release point — reflect his subtle style of making a difference.

“We could watch people’s videos all day,” outfielder Kerry Carpenter said. “It’s different seeing and hearing from somebody who’s actually been in the box.”

Gleyber adds some insurance! pic.twitter.com/mPARHnPnjX

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 27, 2025

When the Tigers signed Torres this winter, everyone knew they were getting a steady bat, he of a career .333 on-base percentage and 113 wRC+. Torres also came with a checkered history of poor defense and miscues on the bases.

Reviews on Torres’ personality were all strong. But it was still unclear how he would function in a smaller market, as one of the most veteran players on a young and scrappy team.

So far? Both Torres and the Tigers are benefiting from this relationship.

“Literally since the first day, I’ve seen a special thing here,” Torres said. “We’ve showed it little by little, and it’s really good so far.”

Another example of the symbiosis: The Tigers are the American League’s most aggressive team when it comes to taking extra bases — think going first to third on a single or scoring from first on a double. As successful as last season’s Yankees were, they ranked last in the extra-bases-taken metric. So when Torres signed with the Tigers in December, he got a message from Tigers third-base coach Joey Cora: Be ready to run.

“From the beginning (of spring training), I was in the dugout and I saw everybody running first to third,” Torres said. “I didn’t do that before. It’s a brand new game for me.”

On Opening Day against the Dodgers, Torres was on first when Riley Greene hit a flare into right field. Torres darted over second and hustled toward third as the strong-armed Teoscar Hernández fielded the ball. Hernández’s throw bounced and trickled away from the bag. Torres was safe at third. Greene advanced to second.

Count that as one proof point for why the style works.

Never before has Torres taken the extra base at more than a 50 percent clip. But this season? Torres entered Sunday at 71.4 percent. He was thrown out trying to advance to second on a single Sunday, but no one batted an eye at the aggression.

“I feel really good because I’m on the same page with the other boys,” Torres said. “We’re aggressive on the bases but in the same way, really smart.”

At the plate, Torres has not been spectacular but has instead been remarkably steady. He bats first or second in the Tigers’ order. He finished Sunday with a .281 average, a .338 on-base percentage and two home runs. Some of his impact goes beyond the box score. Atop the dugout, Hinch keeps a plus-minus system for at-bats. Hard-hit balls, advancing runners or drawn-out battles with the pitcher all count as a plus.

“He gets a lot of pluses,” Hinch said. “When I look at my card and I look at three out of four plus at-bats, I feel like it’s that every day. That’s hard to do in general, but it’s also the reason we were attracted to him. That stability in his at-bat was key.”

Torres’ defense at second base remains firmly in the negative, already at minus-4 defensive runs saved. There is no way around that. But a player who came to Detroit on a one-year deal in hopes of boosting his value and cashing in on a bigger payday seems to be playing with a new combination of looseness and confidence. Before the 2023 season, Torres retreated to winter ball in Venezuela, where he rediscovered his passion for the game away from the brightest lights.

At a different stage in his career, he’s playing with freedom but hasn’t deviated from the structure that got him here.

“With Gleyber, he’s a model of consistency,” Hinch said. “What he does to mentally, physically get himself ready and how he endures the grind of the season, I can see that firsthand now as part of his process. His range of emotions is pretty narrow. He’s not a guy who’s overly high and he’s not a guy who’s ever low, and I can appreciate that.”

The lockers of Torres and Javier Báez are near each other, and they talk before and after at-bats. Torres has quickly formed relationships with other teammates. And Torres’ big-market experience has made him a paragon for the finer points of being a big leaguer, from his pregame routine to his accessibility with the media.

“The way he handles his business is as professional as it gets,” Carpenter said. “I think all of us in the locker room could say we want to be in his position one day, seven years into the big leagues and being in a World Series and having the success that he’s had. I think a lot of people just take a look at what he does and how he handles himself.”

As young as the Tigers are, Torres is not playing the role of babysitter. He’s talked about feeling incredibly welcomed from the first day of spring training.

“Everybody is really mature here,” Torres said. “You hear everybody is young, but it’s just like everybody knows what they have to do.”

Last year’s Tigers learned how many extreme twists and breakneck turns can exist in a major-league season. That’s another lesson Torres turns to often. The Tigers are off to a dreamy start at 18-10, the best record in the American League. The have won seven of their first nine series, a feat no Tigers team had accomplished since the 1984 World Series season.

Still, Torres knows there will be hard days ahead. He understands this is not a game made for those who seek instant gratification.

“The season is so long,” he said. “We have to enjoy the winning. I hope not, but at some part of the season we’re gonna hit a struggle.”

In his past life, Torres has hit 38 home runs in pinstripes. He has also been benched for a lack of hustle. He has been cheered in moments of triumph and booed during elongated slumps.

The trials and tribulations have helped make Torres who he is, the leader he has become.

These days, he is providing behind-the-scenes fuel for a team with the best record in the American League.

(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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