Cardinals Sign Infielder Garnering Attention For Dominant Season In Independent League

The St. Louis Cardinals are taking a shot on a budding infielder who just tore up a non-affiliated professional baseball league.

St. Louis has purchased the contract of utility man Bryan Torres according to the MiLB transaction log.

Torres hit .370 with 37 extra-base hits including 11 home runs, 67 RBIs and a 1.007 OPS in 90 games for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association Professional Baseball League. The 26-year-old also posted a 54-to-64 strikeout-to-walk ratio and swiped 71 bases in 82 attempts. It was clearly time for him to move on to better opportunities.

The rising slugger started his professional career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 and remained in the MiLB until 2021.

Torres hit .280 with eight extra-base hits, nine RBIs and a .667 OPS in 43 games for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels -- an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in his last season. In his career, Torres logged 49 games at third base, 21 as a catcher, 18 at both first and second base plus two stints in left field.

In the earliest phase of the offseason, St. Louis is right to add as much talent to the organization as possible before focusing on specific needs. Torres is a low-risk, high-reward lottery ticket who could earn a Cardinals roster spot down the road.

More MLB: Cardinals Infielder Elects Free Agency After Lackluster Stint In St. Louis

Published Oct 7, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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