Even two seasons away from free agency, Gleyber Torres could read the distant writing on the wall. Back in February 2023, as he reported to spring training, the infielder was asked if the Yankees had approached him about a contract extension, to which Torres responded in part: I wish. After a rocky finish to his time in pinstripes, he could not wish it into existence, with the Tigers on Friday. The Tigers have signed two-time All-Star INF Gleyber Torres to a one-year contract for the 2025 season. Welcome to Detroit, Gleyber! Detroit Tigers (@tigers) Gleyber Torres has been a staple for the Yankees since he entered the league in 2018. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Jairo Iriarte Jersey Torres will remain as a second baseman which also has been his wish while Detroit will move Colt Keith to first base. Thank you, Torres wrote on social media. The Yankees were my family since 2016. A simple boy from Venezuela with great aspirations to play in the most epic city in the world, the Yankees gave me all the love and support I needed to achieve my childhood dream. Wearing pinstripes was an honor for me and my family. Thus ends a as a Yankee for Torres, who once was billed as the po sible future of the team a future that seemed to arrive in 2018-19 until he settled into a more complementary role. The Yankees could market Torres as the future because their present all of a sudden was forgettable. In a rarity, they sold at the 2016 trade deadline and sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs (with whom he won a World Series) and received a 19-year-old gem of a prospect in Torres, outfield prospects Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford and righty Adam Warren. Explore More Torres was the get, a teenage shortstop who could make adjustments on the fly at the plate. He got his shot in April 2018, and immediately played like a star, cracking the All-Star team in his first two seasons and displaying power that he hadnt even as a prospect, drilling 62 home runs in two years. But his pop began to disappear in the ensuing years, which coincided with more focus toward the baseballs themselves that had been bouncier in 2018-19. Thank you for everything, Gleyber New York Yankees (@Yankees) His offense tumbled, with a combined .703 OPS in 2020-21. He was asked for more defensively, the Yankees moving the second baseman to shortstop full time in 2020 and 21, and he came up with le s: Amid a flurry of errors and misplays, he was shifted back to second base in September 2021. Seven seasons of sky-high highs and ocean-low lows finished somewhere in the middle. Gleyber Torres played well in the World Series. Robert Sabo for NY Post From 2022-24, Torres could not approach his All-Star years but did find a different route toward being a contributor, reemerging as an above-average hitter with a .757 OPS in the span. See Also inside the yankees Last season, during his pre surized walk year, he began terribly but put together a strong second half and October with a more patient approach and finished the season as the leadoff hitter ahead of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. But even in his good days, he found ways to frustrate and was benched for a lack of hustle in an August game and blundered his way to outs on the basepaths too often. Yankee Fans, thank you for everything, the 28-year-old wrote. Thank you for the unconditional support, you were always there to motivate me when I had good times and, not so good times. The Yankees did not tag Torres with a qualifying offer despite a need of a second baseman or third baseman and a leadoff hitter. Many top targets are off the free agent board, and its po sible the Yankees will have to fill the hole left by Torres through trade (or simply not fill it). For the past several seasons, the Yankees had not talked about a long-term deal with Torres in large part because there were alternatives. Oswald Peraza had a strong prospect shine. Jorbit Vivas was brought in. Caleb Durbin looked promising. Now, Peraza has proven little as a major leaguer, Vivas is merely a prospect and Durbin is a Brewer. The Yankees no longer have ready-made internal options to fill the void yet still they knew they had to move on from Torres. For several years, Torres has known the same. Thank you New York Yankees, Torres wrote. Zach Remillard Jersey