SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Bryan Torres got the tattoo on his right leg in 2019 during the early years of his baseball journey.
It just took him a while longer to really know what it means to him – and to his potential success in the game.
In simple, stencil-like block letters, the tattoo says, “I am who I am” a reference to a story in Exodus, when God speaks to Moses from a burning bush.
For Torres, now playing for the Double A Springfield Cardinals, it’s an expression reminding him that he can be as good as he wants to be.
“My mentality always is that there’s nobody better than me,” Torres said. “That’s the way everybody has to be. I always have to think I am who I am.”
Torres looked at that tattoo daily the last two years – which he now believes was the defining point in two separate parts of his story – before he spent those two years playing for the Milwaukee Milkmen in the independent American Association – and after, which began when he got a message while flying home to Puerto Rico last September that he was joining the Cardinals organization.
“The biggest part of my story, I think, is the two years in Indy ball,” Torres said. “I’m going to tell you why. I think in my career I’ve been two players – before Indy ball and after Indy ball.
“Before Indy ball I was a catcher and I never showed the talent that I really have. One of my biggest tools is my legs and my speed. When you are a catcher you are tired so you can’t take advantage of it. When I went to Indy ball I stopped catching and became an infielder and outfielder. It was my choice. They wanted me to catch and I said no.
“From that point on I showed what I can do in the field. That gave me the opportunity to use my legs and finally play the way I play right now.”
Someone who has quickly grown to appreciate Torres’ style of play is Springfield manager Jose Leger, who almost immediately installed Torres as the team’s starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.
“One thing that kind of blows my mind is how much he pays attention to the details and how easy he picks up on pitchers tipping,” Leger said. “His determination – he’s like a silent killer.”
Torres started his career as a catcher for one reason. Having gone undrafted out of high school in Puerto Rico, Torres went to a tryout with the Brewers – and the scout asked if he could catch.
“Of course,” Torres replied. The Brewers signed him in 2015 when Torres was 17 and sent him to play on their team in the Dominican Summer League, an unusual assignment for a player from Puerto Rico.
Torres was a part of that team for three years, not making his U.S.-debut until 2018. He was being used in a variety of positions, with that versatility standing out as one of his strengths, but he didn’t advance past rookie ball with the Brewers before Covid canceled the 2020 minor-league season.
Claimed in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft by the Giants, Torres saw limited playing time with their Double A team in 2021, then was released following the season.
Not ready to give up on a dream he had had since he was four years old and was following his older brother to the baseball field, Torres took the only option available to him to keep playing – in Independent ball.
He thought his stay in that league would be brief. He was wrong.
“When I went there I said, ‘I’m not going to be here for a month. Before a month I am going to get signed,’” Torres said. “I worked hard every day to get out of there in one month. I was hitting well, almost .400, and nothing happened.
“I stayed positive. The year was over and nothing happened. I believe in God, and when it didn’t happen, I knew it was because something else was going to happen. There had to be something that I had to change, something I had to fix, but it’s going to happen at some point. I know God’s timing is perfect, and that’s literally how it happened.”
One of the parts of his game that Torres changed in his second season in Milwaukee was using his legs. After stealing only 22 bases, while leading the league with a .374 average in 2022, Torres went out last season and stole 71 bases and again led the league with a .371 average.
Torres didn’t know it at the time, but that performance was being noticed by the Cardinals’ analytics department.
“Austin Lukaschewski and Jeremy Cohen from our baseball development department are constantly monitoring the independent leagues and Aaron Klinec had a positive scouting report on him from 2021,” said Cardinals’ executive John Vuch.
The Cardinals also knew that the “partner” agreement between MLB and the Independent league was expiring at the end of the 2023 season, with no certainty about what rules would be in place about signing players when a new agreement was reached.
So the team, not wanting to wait, spent $2,500 to sign Torres, with another $12,500 payment due to the league if Torres made a Cardinals’ affiliate to begin this season.
So far, it appears to be money well spent.
“We knew we liked him, and Jeremy and Austin felt like of all of the guys in the Indy leagues this guy was the best fit for us,” Vuch said. “We’re glad we signed him when we did because he ended up having a good winter league, which probably would have put him on more teams radar.”
Torres was actually one of four Indy league players signed by the Cardinals, and those teams could become an even bigger source of players in the future because of the number of minor-league affiliates which have been eliminated and the reduction in the amateur draft from 40 rounds to 20.
“Those Indy league teams are becoming more important,” Vuch said. “We’ve always gotten players from the Indy leagues in the past but I think we are paying even more attention now because it’s a more viable source of legitimate talent.”
One of the other players signed out of the American Association by the Cardinals was infielder Matt Lloyd, who played against Torres last season.
“It just seemed like he was always on base,” said Lloyd, who went to that league after playing in the Reds organization. “I was blown away last year watching him. That league was a lot better than I thought it was going to be when I signed there.”
Like Lloyd, Torres took advantage of his time in the league to get what he wanted – an opportunity to take the next step toward his ultimate goal of playing in the major leagues.
“Over there you are just looking for a chance,” Torres said. “Playing there helped me a lot as a player and as a person to find and look at the kind of player I am today. The player that I am today is because of Independent ball. That’s where I found who I was.
“When I went to Indy ball, my goal every day was that if they didn’t pick me yesterday, I’m going to give them a reason to sign me today. That was my mentality every day.”
Torres had to stay mentally strong to keep that focus through the entire two seasons he was in the league, a dedication and desire that also impressed Leger.
“He told me this year, ‘I’m going to play in the big leagues’ and I wouldn’t count him out,” Leger said. “I believe he has a chance. He’s got the tool set that you need in a leadoff hitter. He sprays the ball, runs well, knows the game and can play defense.”
About the only knock against Torres is because of those two years in Indy ball, he is now a little older than many of the players at the Double A level. He is 26 and will turn 27 in July.
To Torres, however, age is just another obstacle that he is determined to overcome.
In his first month with the Cardinals, Torres has posted a .333 average, which as of Monday ranked sixth in the Texas League. His nine stolen bases is one off the league lead, and he ranks eighth in the league in on-base percentage.
That success has come after a winter in which Torres played in Puerto Rico, earning a chance to play for former Cardinal Yadier Molina when he was managing the team from Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series.
He served as the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for the team in the series, played in the Marlins stadium in Miami.
Playing on Molina’s team was another dream come true for Torres, who had two baseball idols growing up in Puerto Rico – Carlos Beltran and Molina.
“When I signed as a catcher I started following Yadi,” Torres said. “That guy is a legend. He told me a few things which helped me a lot.”
One message from Molina has stayed with Torres and served as another daily motivation.
“I told him it was my first time playing in a big-league stadium and he told me, ‘Get ready. It’s not going to be the last one,’” Torres said.
“That little thing made me think, ‘This guy is watching me and telling me that, it’s because he sees something in me that I can make it.’ It made me so happy.”