DETROIT -- The Tigers have spent much of the offseason looking for a right-handed batter to bolster a lineup heavy in young left-handed hitters. When president of baseball operations Scott Harris saw an opportunity to add former Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres on a one-year, $15 million deal, he spent most of Christmas Eve trying to put the signing together.

“My family didn’t really appreciate [that],” Harris said half-jokingly.

The talks carried through Christmas and Boxing Day, but they finally completed a deal on Friday. It might have landed Harris on his family’s naughty list for the holidays, and it might feel like a lump of coal for other hitters trying to fight their way into the lineup, such as Spencer Torkelson. But by adding a young, potentially impactful right-handed bat with postseason experience on a short-term deal, Harris gifted manager A.J. Hinch a much-needed boost for 2025.

It might not be the last.

“We’re going to keep working,” Harris said. “You guys know me, I can’t really sit on my hands, so I’m going to try to continue to help this group get better. But I really like where we’re at right now.”

The signing, which includes a one-time assignment bonus of $500,000 if Torres is traded, reshuffles the right side of Detroit’s infield. Torres will take over at second base, Harris said. Colt Keith will move to first base, where the Tigers had advised him earlier this offseason to take ground balls.

Torkelson, Detroit’s primary first baseman for most of the past three seasons, will have to compete for a role at first base or designated hitter. Harris said he talked with Keith and Torkelson ahead of the signing.

“This team needs more right-handed power,” Harris said, “and we’ve seen Tork do that in the past. He reminded me how hard he’s working this offseason, and he seems very determined to demonstrate that he deserves a role on this team, too.”

The move does not impact the left side of the Tigers' infield. Though Torres began his career as the Yankees’ primary shortstop before shifting to second, he is not expected to play short in Detroit, where Javier Báez is coming off of hip surgery and rookie Trey Sweeney took over for the stretch run and postseason. Nor does Torres’ arrival impact third base, where the Tigers have been active in the market and connected with free agent Alex Bregman.

While the 28-year-old Torres prompts some shifts defensively, his offensive game should blend in nicely with an athletic group of players while hitting in spacious Comerica Park.

Torres has had power production during various stretches of his seven-year MLB career, all with the Yankees so far. He hit 38 home runs in 2019 and 62 over his first two Major League campaigns, then hit 49 over 2022 and '23 combined. While he slumped to 15 homers last season in a .257/.330/.378 campaign, he thrived down the stretch as a high-contact leadoff hitter atop the Yankees’ formidable lineup, batting .306/.375/.418 over the final two months. He then reached base safely in each of the Yankees’ first 13 postseason games.

“We saw him tap a little bit more into his offensive upside in the second half and the postseason,” Harris said. “We think there’s more in there. Gleyber does, too.”

Torres’ 20.3% strikeout rate for his career is below the 22.7% MLB average, while his 9.1% career walk rate is just above the MLB average.

“We think he’s going to add on-base skills,” Harris said. “We think he’s going to add damage, and we think he’s going to be able to protect some of our young but really talented left-handed hitters who will hit in the middle of our lineup in 2025.”

In many ways, the signing is similar to the type of bounce-back contracts the Tigers have made on the pitching side under Harris with Michael Lorenzen, Jack Flaherty and Alex Cobb. If Torres puts together a bounceback season and returns to free agency next offseason, the Tigers could extend him a one-year qualifying offer. If he declined the offer and signed elsewhere, Detroit would receive a draft pick as compensation.

“He had a lot of opportunity to go to different places this winter on longer deals than the one he took,” Harris said, “but his agents were very up front with me about his desire to bet on himself, and honestly, that made me want him more. He’s had multiple conversations with [infield coach] Joey Cora about his defense. …

“His agents were very up front about how he wants to go to a place where he can get better and win at the same time. I think Detroit represents that type of environment now. Our players last year demonstrated that we can win here, and our coaching staff, A.J. and our development infrastructure have demonstrated over the last two years that a lot of players can come here and get better. And so, I think Gleyber found this to be an appealing place.”