Gleyber Torres isn’t a fit for the Miami Marlins

First of all, check out our top 20 free agents part 1 and part 2 if you haven’t already. There’s been a lot of talk about the Miami Marlins pursuing New York Yankees 2B Gleyber Torres. The Fish almost acquired him for a package centered around SP Pablo López at the most recent trade deadline. We’re looking to trade Pablo for hitting help, so it makes sense that we would target a pretty good second baseman, but there are multiple reasons why it’s just not a good idea.

The Miami Marlins shouldn’t trade with the New York Yankees for Gleyber Torres.

On the surface it looks like the Miami Marlins would be winning this trade. Pablo produced 3.0 WAR in 2022, but Gleyber Torres produced 4.1. It’s pretty obvious that Gleyber would be a solid addition to our lineup, especially since he had a higher WAR than any of our current hitters during thhe recently ended season. We can even move superstar Jazz Chisholm Jr. to SS to accommodate him, though that’s a risky move, and Jazz was on pace for a higher WAR prior to going on the IL.

The problem with Gleyber Torres is that he’s hitting free agency after the 2024 season. That’s just two years of control, we need more. Gleyber has also been pretty unpredictable throughout his career. He batted .271/.340/.480 with 24 home runs and 77 RBI in 123 games and 431 AB in 2018. He followed that up with a .278/.337/.535 batting line in 2019, that came along with 38 home runs and 90 RBI in 144 games and 546 AB.

Gleyber received rookie of the year votes in 2018, and MVP votes in 2019. In 2020 however, he batted .243/.356/.368 with 3 home runs and 16 RBI in 42 games and 136 AB. Was that a fluke? In 2022, he answered that question by batting .259/.331/.366 with 9 home runs and 51 RBI in 127 games and 459 AB. He lost his power and looked more like a bust than a useful bat. In 2022, he had the highest EV of his career (90.1) as he batted .257/.310/.451 with 24 home runs and 76 RBI in 140 games and 526 AB.

Gleyber Torres is a good player, but he’s not co sister enough or under team control enough for us to pursue him. We have better trades available for us anyway…