When the New York Mets acquired catcher Luis Torrens from the New York Yankees early in the 2024 season, the move barely made headlines.
At the time, the 28-year-old had accumulated 807 MLB plate appearances but had never secured a spot on the Yankees’ major league roster and carried a career value of -1.7 fWAR from his time with the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Chicago Cubs.
However, his fortunes changed once he joined the Mets. In 48 games and 130 plate appearances that season, Torrens produced 0.8 fWAR, largely due to a dramatic improvement in his defensive performance behind the plate.
Offensively, he posted an 89 wRC+, slightly better than his previous career mark of 79, but his biggest impact came from his defensive contributions.
Torrens returned to the same role the following year and saw more playing time after injuries sidelined starting catcher Francisco Alvarez.
Across 283 plate appearances, he recorded a 79 wRC+, but his strong defensive metrics again boosted his value, allowing him to finish the season with 1.6 fWAR.
Despite making several roster moves during the offseason, the Mets did little to add serious competition at catcher.
Players like Austin Barnes, Ben Rortvedt, and minor league options Hayden Senger and Kevin Parada are in camp, but none appear likely to challenge Torrens for his role, even though several—including Torrens—are out of minor league options.
Projections from FanGraphs suggest Torrens will likely continue providing solid defense with a below-average bat as he enters his age-30 season, contributing roughly one win by fWAR—an entirely respectable output for a dependable role player on a competitive team.
