Gleyber Torres’ first home run with the Tigers came at a cost.
The former Yankees infielder aggravated recent soreness in his lower ribs Friday while going deep off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning of the Tigers’ 8-5 loss.
He stayed in the game until the sixth, when he was replaced at second base.
“The last few days, I have played with it but today I wake up a little bit more sore than normal,” Torres said afterward, per The Detroit Free Press. “During the game, it felt really uncomfortable.”
It appeared that Torres reached for his left side during his home-run trot.
So, why did he stay in the game and run the risk of an extended absence early in the season?
“He went inside, got a little quick trick treatment, and came out and wanted to go,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “And then he was bouncing around, doing fine.”
Torres made a couple more plays in the field before he was pulled.
“He got a little more sore as the game went on,” Hinch said. “It’s not the time of year to mess with it. So, I took him out and started the treatment, and then we’ll see how he feels (moving forward).”
Torres told reporters that he was hoping to be back in Saturday’s lineup but that this particular discomfort was a new feeling during his career.
The durable Torres played in all but 12 games over the last two seasons for the Yankees, with whom he spent the first seven years of his MLB career.
He and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman didn’t see eye-to-eye on Torres’ departure, which unofficially began when Cashman acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the trade deadline last season.
Chisholm moved to third base to accommodate Torres’ wishes but has taken over at second base with Torres in Detroit as a free-agent signing.
