MLB Insider Predicts Gleyber Torres Could Twist Knife With AL East Return

Gleyber Torres will get a chance to show the Yankees they were wrong in person this week. The former Yankees’ All-Star returns as a rejuvenated second baseman with the Detroit Tigers after betting on himself in free agency. 

The two-time All-Star spent his first seven seasons in pinstripes (2018–24), then bet on himself with a one-year deal in Detroit. Now, with free agency looming, New York Post MLB Insider Jon Heyman hints that Torres could torment the Yankees on a more regular basis starting next year. 

Listing him as a top-five free-agent infielder this winter, Heyman lists the Yankees' American League rival Boston Red Sox, as one of Torres’ potential landing spots. 

The bet has held up. Torres signed a one-year, $15 million with the Tigers in December, a classic “prove-it” pact for a 28-year-old middle infielder trying to reset his market.

He’s been a steady everyday second baseman for a first-place club, posting a .261 average, .758 OPS, 14 HR and 63 RBI to date, with ~2.4–2.5 WAR by FanGraphs—top-five on a deep Detroit roster

 Internally, the Red Sox have Kristian Campbell, who flashed early but has bounced between Boston and Worcester.  He’s logged big-league time at 2B/OF with a .223/.664 OPS look this year and was optioned back to Triple-A on June 20.Ceddanne Rafaela is a premium athlete who’s helped in center and up the middle, bringing pop and speed with a .715 OPS in 2025, but he profiles more as a CF/SS rover than a locked-in bat at second.

So, Boston could still use a reliable right-handed second baseman to lengthen the lineup.

Torres knows the ballparks, the pitching and the ins and outs of the AL East.  After seven seasons with the Yankees, seeing him in Boston red would sting—and it would come with the annual chance to twist the knife 13–19 times a year.

Don't underestimate the revenge angle. Torres has taken several shots at how the Yankees handled him on social media and in comments this year. There is some bad blood there.

The market isn’t bursting with plug-and-play second basemen who hit league-above and survive October. If Boston wants a proven AL East second baseman, Heyman’s link to Gleyber Torres makes baseball sense, and it would hurt in the Bronx.