Gleyber Torres' first Tigers home run may be a costly one for Detroit

Gleyber Torres has already made himself a key member of the Detroit Tigers just two games into the season. On Thursday, the Tigers' key infield acquisition had two hits in five at-bats and scored a run.

Friday night, Torres took Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto to left field in the third inning for his first Tigers home run, but the celebration was a short one. After rounding first, Torres reached to grab his back as he continued his jog around the bases. Following touching home plate to give Detroit a 2-0 lead, he could be seen walking down the stairs toward the Tigers' clubhouse while the top of the second inning continued.

While Torres initially stayed in the game, and indeed took a walk in his next plate appearance, he came out of the game after six innings, replaced by Javy Baez.

After the game, Tigers manager AJ Hinch said on Tigers postgame TV coverage that Torres' began to get more soar as the game continued, so he removed him in a precautionary move because it's too early in the season to mess around with injuries.

The Tigers categorize it as a rib injury.

Gleyber Torres holds his back after first Tigers' home run

Fears of an oblique injury likely popped into the minds of Tigers' fans everywhere as the snakebitten club already lost multiple outfielders before the season even began.

Fortunately, Torres was initially able to return to the game in the bottom of the inning and trotted back out to second base.

Torres' injury history is one worth keeping an eye on. He suffered from groin injuries in 2024, which limited his playing time with the Yankees when he was forced to hit the injured list twice.

The Tigers have made several moves to address their early injury issues, including signing Manny Margot just before the season opener and trading for a former Brewers outfielder earlier Friday.

Updated 11:50 p.m. to reflect Torres leaving the game.

Updated 1:20 a.m. to reflect AJ Hinch's comments.