Why Tigers' Three-Time All-Star Is Perfect Free-Agent Fit For Royals

Exactly where the Royals can make a splash...

A batting helmet sits on display with the Detroit Tigers 2024 Nike MLB City Connect series uniform in a locker room area during a special launch event at Comerica Park in Detroit on Monday. May 6, 2024. | Ryan Garza / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Kansas City Royals have a lot of challenges to tackle in one go this winter.

Following a disappointing 82-80 campaign (four wins worse than a season ago), the Royals are left to figure out why an offense that added talent from a year ago finished 26th in scoring. And as they evaluate what went wrong, they must also decide which positions to upgrade for next year.

While there are plenty of potential solutions, the Royals should identify second base as a need worth addressing for the next few seasons, as they had two prominent players suffer brutal years in 2025. Accordingly, there's a free agent who should be attainable that would be a major upgrade.

Royals should go after Tigers' Gleyber Torres

Oct 5, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) runs after hitting a single against the Seattle Mariners in the fifth inning during game two of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres, who made his third All-Star team this season, was an interesting target for the Royals before they traded for Jonathan India last winter. Instead, he's still playing postseason baseball while Kansas City is sitting at home.

Now that he's had a productive year and India put together a rough one, he makes even more sense for Kansas City this time around.

It's not like Torres' numbers will blow anyone away. He finished the year with a .256/.358/.387 slash line, 16 home runs, and 2.9 wins above replacement. But India and fellow Kansas City second baseman Michael Massey combined for 0.3 WAR, so Torres repeating that season in a Royals uniform would be a big upgrade.

Torres was available for a one-year contract last offseason, and the $15 million he signed for could have been within the Royals' budget had they chosen to allocate their money a certain way. No one can say with certainty what their budget will look like this time around, but a multi-year deal for a similar salary that works for both parties would be easy to envision.

The Tigers' infield pipeline is deeper than the Royals, so it's not obvious that they're committed to trying to re-sign Torres. That could be a boon to Kansas City, and stealing a productive starter from a division rival never hurts either.

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