NY Mets Gold Glove finalist Luis Torrens wasn't always 24-karat

MLB recently announced the finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove at every position. The New York Mets have two candidates, including pitcher David Peterson and backstop Luis Torrens. Torrens is in his second year with the Mets, and his breakout with his defense behind the dish deserves serious praise. He's gone from a complete liability when it comes to defense to a legit plus defender who is in contention for an award that is all about defense.

Coming up through the minor leagues, Torrens was seen as a bat-over-glove catcher. Even as a prospect back in 2013 after the New York Yankees signed him out of Venezuela, Baseball America stated his calling card was his bat. While he displayed a strong arm throughout the minor leagues, his receiving skills were poor, and he allowed a whopping 49 passed balls in his first 1125 innings as a professional ballplayer.

Torrens was then picked up by the Cincinnati Reds in the Rule 5 draft during the 2016-2017 offseason and traded to the San Diego Padres. 2017 would be his first taste of Major League action, and up through 2023, his glovework wasn't anything to be proud of. He had -22 defensive runs saved with -17.6 framing runs with the Padres, Seattle Mariners (whom he was traded to during the 2020 season), and the Chicago Cubs in 2024. Torrens cut down on the passed balls, with ten in 1122.2 innings, but his caught stealing rate was a below-average 21.1%.

Torrens wasn't just bad, but one the worst defensive backstops in baseball. Among players with at least 500 innings behind the dish, Torrens had the 13th fewest DRS and 16th least framing runs. His --23 fielding run value came in as the 14th worst. In 2022, he was only in the 25th percentile of poptime at two seconds flat, ranking 57th out of 84 qualified backstops that season.

Luis Torrens has gone from a liability with the glove to a Gold Glove finalist with the NY Mets.

But in his first year with the Mets, Torrens looked like a new player behind the dish. He put up +3 DRS and +0.9 framing runs in 299 innings. It may have been a small sample size, but it was the first time Torrens performed positively in both stats. He caught nearly 50% of opponents trying to steal, with a 46.4% caught stealing percentage. He can thank his massively improved 1.87-second poptime for the assistance. That was the sixth-best among all catchers in 2024. He may have had -4 blocking runs, but this was a massive step in the right direction for Torrens. His overall fielding value per Baseball Savant came in at +11.

Now in 2025, Torrens has established himself as a truly reliable defensive backstop. He had +11 DRS, making him one of only seven backstops to reach double-digits. He continued to be an above-average framer as well, with +2.3 framing runs in 699 innings. Torrens led the league in caught stealing rate at 40.8%, while still putting up a 1.87 poptime. His +12 CS above average was the best in the league by far. The next closest was Carlos Narvaez of the Boston Red Sox at +9. He even improved his blocking, with only -1 blocking runs this season.

He's gone from one of the worst defensive catchers, to one of the best. Since the start of 2024, Torrens has the fifth most DRS and the sixth most fielding runs among catchers. Torrens is one of only eight catchers with double-digit positives in both statistics. He has now ranked above the 90th percentile of poptime two seasons in a row, with a CS% of 42.9%.

Torrens' improvements behind the plate are impressive, to say the least. He's become one of baseball's more underrated backstops, given his strong glove work. Torrens has +2.4 fWAR over 141 games with the Mets. All he needs to do now is figure out how to hit more, but his defense has proven he's good enough to be a part-time backstop for the Mets moving forward.