The Kansas City Royals may be coming alive at just the right time. While they are still four games back of the defending American League champion New York Yankees in the Wild Card race, they are now 63-61 and have won seven of their last 10 games. They won 86 games last year and secured the second Wild Card spot before losing to the Yankees in the ALDS.
At the trade deadline, they made a few key moves to bolster their offense, adding veterans Mike Yastrzemski, Adam Frazier and Randal Grichuk. But all three players will be free agents at the end of the season, and likely will not be back with the team in 2026. So, the Royals might have to get creative in the offseason.
Among the top 25 impending free agents listed by Jim Bowden of The Athletic was Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres. Perhaps the Royals could take a chance on him to replace one of their likely departed veterans and bolster the offense.
“Torres has been an important table setter and lineup lengthener for the Tigers this season,” Bowden wrote. “He remains a well-below-average defensive second baseman in terms of his glove, range (30th percentile in outs above average) and arm strength (10th percentile).”
What Torres lacks on the defensive side of the game he has made up for offensively, even if his numbers have taken a bit of a dip lately. The veteran second baseman was an All-Star for the third time this season after joining the Tigers on a one-year, $15 million contract.
This season, Torres has hit .261/.357/.401 with 13 home runs, 58 RBI, a 1.8 WAR, .759 OPS and a 111 OPS+.
Torres began his career with the Yankees and was with the team until 2024. He likely won’t be too expensive, which bodes well for the small-market Royals, who typically don’t spend big in free agency anyway. But they could stick Torres at second base and potentially find another role for the struggling Michael Massey.
The Royals could potentially give him an affordable multi-year contract and boost their offense with this potential move. It will be interesting to see how the Royals navigate the offseason, especially if they miss the postseason this year. Another bat would be most beneficial for them going forward.
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