Gleyber Torres posts heartfelt farewell to Yankees 'family' after official departure

Gleyber Torres' final home run in a New York Yankees uniform was picture perfect. Handed a fastball riding in on the inner half, he pulled his hands in, lifted, and separated, finding the right field seats for a three-run homer that put Game 4 of the World Series out of reach.

And while Torres' 2024 season may have been representative of a worst-case scenario of an under-pressure walk year, let the record state he did find his swing in time for October, rejuvenated out of the leadoff hole in one last gasp of offensive brilliance with the only big-league club he's ever known.

Now, predictably, Torres will be moving on, leaping at just a single year of security with the Detroit Tigers at second base. It's not that the Yankees couldn't match that price; it's that they refused to.

Still, if Torres has hard feelings, he didn't let them seep into his farewell Instagram post, a heartfelt tribute to every member of the Yankees "family" who's had his back since his arrival as a teenager back in 2016.

Yankees' Gleyber Torres says goodbye to family on Instagram

There certainly was a world where he ended up a Red Sox on a one-year pact, out for revenge and looking to pepper the Monster. It felt like he could be a Met midseason, with Jeff McNeil a Yankee, but that never came to fruition, either. The reunion with Juan Soto will have to wait.

Instead, Torres heads to Detroit, a 2024 contender that deserves credit for not leaning on their late-season, rookie-fueled run and deciding to justify a lack of spending with that unsustainable burst. They've opted to add a playoff-tested Torres at second base, moving Colt Keith to first and opening up third base for a potential Alex Bregman addition.

At this price, you'll certainly see plenty of Yankees fans wish Torres was returning, a desire that would've been somewhat shocking after his midsummer benching and before his leadoff turnaround. It's probably best for all parties that the Yankees made a clean break, but that doesn't make watching Gleyber grow up and depart any less emotional.