In somewhat of an interesting turn of events regarding the Washington Nationals and their pursuit of New York Yankees' infielder Gleyber Torres, apparently he turned down an offer over a position change, instead signing with the Detroit Tigers earlier today.
According to Jon Heyman, Gleyber Torres reportedly turned down an offer from the Nationals, as the team asked him to play third base, which was something that we wrote about previously that would have been an interesting proposition. Torres, who was somewhat infamously against playing third base in the regular season after the acquisition of Jazz Chisholm, would not have been a fit for the team at third base, due to his already subpar defense playing a much easier position at second base.
Personally, I am not upset at all about losing out on Torres. To me, he felt like a prime candidate for an overpay, as he is coming off a down season that saw him post just a .709 OPS, and quite frankly his attitude over a position change is not something that a young Nationals team needs at all. When you have a team of young guys who would look to someone like Torres as a bit of a veteran leader given his postseason experience and time spent playing in a big market, seeing that he wouldn't have the drive to make a move that could better help the team is not something that I think would be looked upon very favorably, especially when you're not one of the best players on the team.
If I am a General Manager like Mike Rizzo, I want to bring in guys who genuinely believe in what's being built here in DC, and guys who want to be here to see the fruits of their labor pay off. If someone like Torres didn't want to challenge himself and play third base, then so be it.
Torres signing indicates Nationals could be unafraid to spend
However, what has to be considered positive news for Nationals fans is the fact that they were in on Torres, given the amount he signed for with the Tigers. The amount he ended up getting was a 1-year deal worth $15 million, and if Jon Heyman was right that the main reason he turned down the Nationals' offer was over the position change, then perhaps the club could still make a bigger free agent acquisition.
$15 million is certainly not chump change, and given that the club has already dished out around $20 million to hopefully upgrade the team with the acquisitions of Michael Soroka and Nathaniel Lowe, the team is not done, and hopefully we will see some positive news soon.
If I had to guess, I would think the club is going to be out on Alex Bregman at this point, but perhaps they could still sign a big bat that would likely command a lower AAV in a guy like Anthony Santander, who makes all the sense in the world for the Nationals at this point. I don't think they'll look to add a veteran starter at this point, but as we move closer to Spring Training guys will start getting anxious and could be had for less. Besides the need for one more bat and maybe one more starting pitcher, there are a couple of spots up for grabs in the bullpen, and it will be interesting to see what kind of moves the club makes to shore up the back end of the bullpen for 2025.
What do you think of Gleyber Torres turning down the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.