TIGERS SIGN FORMER YANKEES SECOND BASEMAN GLEYBER TORRES TO A $15 MILLION, 1-YEAR DEAL
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers signed former New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres on Friday to a $15 million, one-year contract.
The two-time All-Star’s deal includes a one-time assignment bonus of $500,000.
Torres hit .265 with 138 home runs and 441 RBIs in seven seasons with the Yankees, who acquired him from the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
The 28-year-old infielder hit .257 with 15 homers, 63 RBIs and 26 doubles last season while helping the Yankees win the AL East and reach the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
Tigers President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris told reporters Torres — who played shortstop and then second base during his stint with the Yankees — is expected to play second in Detroit while Colt Keith, who played the position for most of last season, will shift to first base.
Torres, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, was originally signed in 2013 by the Cubs and included in a deal in 2016 with Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford that sent Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman to Chicago. The Cubs ended up beating Cleveland in the World Series that year, ending a 107-year drought.
Torres moved quickly through the minors and made his major league debut in 2018 with the Yankees. He homered in four straight games as a rookie, and at 21 years and 163 days old, became the youngest player in American League history to accomplish the feat. Torres also was selected for the first of two consecutive All-Star games. He finished third that year in AL Rookie of the Year balloting behind winner Shohei Ohtani and then-teammate Miguel Andújar.
He also was successful in the playoffs for the Yankees, posting a .795 OPS with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in six postseasons for New York. His 16.2% strikeout rate ranks fifth among players with at least 150 postseason plate appearances since the start of the 2018 season.
REPORTS: D-BACKS, CORBIN BURNES AGREE TO 6-YEAR, $210M DEAL
Right-hander Corbin Burnes, arguably the top remaining free agent on the market, agreed to a mega-deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to multiple media reports late Friday night.
The contract reportedly is for six years and $210 million, but Burnes has the right to opt out after two seasons. It would be the largest contract in Diamondbacks history.
Burnes lands with a team that already features one of the major leagues’ deepest rotations with Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt.
Burnes, 30, spent the 2024 season with the Baltimore Orioles, earning his fourth consecutive All-Star selection while going 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts. He tied for seventh in the American League in wins and came in fourth in ERA while striking out 181 in 194 1/3 innings.
A fourth-round draft pick of the Brewers in 2016, Burnes broke into the majors in 2018 and spent six seasons in Milwaukee before he was traded to Baltimore before spring training this year. He won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award after going 11-5 with a league-leading 2.43 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 167 innings over 28 starts.
Burnes logged more than 190 innings each of the past three seasons.
In 199 career major league appearances (138 starts), Burnes is 60-36 with a 3.19 ERA. He has 1,051 strikeouts and 254 walks in 903 2/3 innings.
The Diamondbacks missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker in 2024. They went 89-73, the same mark as the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, who claimed the last two NL wild-card berths.
REPORTS: DODGERS BRING BACK ALL-STAR OF TEOSCAR HERNANDEZ FOR 3 YEARS, $66M
Teoscar Hernandez is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers after a triumphant first season, as the All-Star outfielder and the World Series champions have agreed on a three-year, $66 million contract, according to multiple reports on Friday evening.
Hernandez, 32, posted “I’m back” on his Instagram account, though the ballclub has not confirmed the reports.
The deal includes a club option of $15 million for the 2028 season with a $6.5 million buyout, $23.5 million in deferred money and a $23 million signing bonus, ESPN reported.
Hernandez had signed on Jan. 12 as a free agent with the Dodgers, reportedly declining multi-year offers for a one-year, $23.5 million contract, with $8.5 million deferred.
The risk was rewarded as the native of the Dominican Republic was a key contributor to the Dodgers’ regular-season run as well as through the playoffs.
He batted .250 with three homers, 12 RBIs and 10 walks, and reached base safely in 15 of 16 postseason games.
Hernandez batted .272 in the regular season with a career-high 33 home runs as well as 99 RBIs in 154 games. He sported a .339 on-base percentage and .501 slugging percentage.
He was voted to his second All-Star Game, where he also won the Home Run Derby. He also collected his third Silver Slugger award.
Hernandez is a career .263 hitter with 192 homers and 572 RBIs in 965 games for the Houston Astros (2016-17), Toronto Blue Jays (2017-22), Seattle Mariners (2023) and Dodgers.
The Dodgers had earlier this month signed veteran Michael Conforto (one year, $17 million) to a roster of outfielders including Tommy Edman, Chris Taylor, James Outman and Andy Pages. Shortstop Mookie Betts is a former outfielder and MVP.
LOÁISIGA GUARANTEED $5 MILLION IN 1-YEAR DEAL WITH YANKEES AS HE RETURNS FROM TOMMY JOHN SURGERY
NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga is guaranteed $5 million in his one-year contract from the New York Yankees as he returns from Tommy John surgery and could earn up to $10.5 million over two seasons.
Loáisiga gets a $500,000 signing bonus and a $4.5 million salary next season as part of the agreement announced Saturday.
New York has a $5 million team option for 2026 with no buyout. Loáisiga could earn $500,000 in performance bonuses in 2026: $100,000 apiece for 50 innings and each additional five through 70.
Pitching coach Matt Blake said last week the 30-year-old right-hander could return in late April or May from Tommy John surgery last May 1.
“I imagine him being one of the high-leverage guys,” Blake said. “Obviously, we got to take some time to get him right, make sure we don’t rush him into competition.”
Loáisiga had a $2.5 million salary this year in his final season of arbitration eligibility and became a free agent.
He made three relief appearances during the first seven days of the season, then went on the injured list because of a strained right flexor muscle, then had Tommy John surgery with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.