ATLANTA — Just like old times — as in, the 2024 second half and postseason — manager Aaron Boone penciled in second baseman Gleyber Torres as his leadoff hitter.
The venue, circumstances and uniforms have changed, though.
Torres was atop the American League batting order and deservedly so after a first half in which he carried over his plate discipline from late last season.
His .387 on-base percentage ranked as the sixth best in all of baseball among qualifiers. He has been a stalwart for the best-in-baseball Tigers at second base.
From the outside, there could be an argument to be made that Torres, after his chaotic walk year last season, needed a fresh start to find his best form.
From the player, that argument does not hold up. Torres shrugged off the notion that he needed to leave the Yankees to excel like this.
“It just happened at the right time,” Torres said this week before Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Truist Park. “God always has a plan, and that’s the plan for me right now.”
The plan for Torres has been much different than last year’s.
There was the concerning slow start in 2024 — a .654 OPS in the first half — during arguably the most important season of his career because he was about to hit free agency.
There was the upswing in the second half, when Torres began showing more patience and power that motivated Boone to swing him back to the top of the lineup, setting the table for Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
There was the deadline trade that brought in Jazz Chisholm Jr., after which Torres declared: “I’m a second baseman. I play second.” Chisholm was asked to learn third base on the fly, which occasionally hurt the Yankees and led GM Brian Cashman to take a shot at Torres after the season.
And there was the postseason run in which Torres generally played well, but his misplay in Game 1 of the World Series — in which he booted a throw from Soto, allowing Shohei Ohtani to take an extra base that led to the game-tying run in a crushing Yankees loss.
“Whatever happened last year, happened in the past. I know what kind of player I am,” said Torres, who is doing better this season to prove what kind of player he is.
He is no longer hitting 38 homers, like he did in the bouncy ball-tainted 2019 MLB season, but he slugged nine homers in 84 games before the break.
He has never batted below third in the order for the Tigers, living on base for the team that has scored the third-most runs in the AL.
“Consistent quality at-bats — the guy really controls the zone,” Torres teammate and fellow All-Star righty Casey Mize said. “He brings a sense of stability. He’s a great player. I think a lot of him. He’s been huge for us.”
This is the type of season — or at least first three and a half months — that Torres envisioned after struggling much of last year before hitting the open market.
He received longer-term offers than the Tigers’ one-year, $15 million pact, but Torres wanted to bet on himself to perhaps truly cash in during the upcoming offseason.
That bet is looking like a winning one, Boone himself saying Torres is enjoying an “outstanding” year.
“I truly believe in myself every moment,” Torres said, “no matter what is happening at the moment.”
The Yankees miss the bat, though the fit at second base — where Chisholm has returned after yet another detour to third — would not be ideal.
Both sides settled on a couple-day, midseason reunion. Torres caught up with Judge and plenty of his former teammates (and coaches) before the game.
“I got a really good relationship with them,” Torres said of the Yankees. “Come here, see all the people — Boonie, all the coaches — it’s really special.
“They helped me growing up so much. … It’s fun. One more opportunity to play together.”