On Saturday, the Atlanta Braves reportedly agreed to a contract with veteran first baseman Yuli Gurriel, per baseball reporter Francys Romero. It is reportedly a minor league deal.
Gurriel, 39, has played at the MLB level with the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins. He spent 2016 to 2022 playing in Houston. The first baseman played a role in two World Series championships with the Astros.
Yuli Gurriel lands Braves contract
In 2017, which was technically his rookie season despite debuting in 2016, Gurriel finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting. The 2017 Astros season obviously is tied to controversy, but Gurriel performed well and Houston won the Fall Classic.
He continued to hit well in 2018 to 2019, consistently posting batting averages between .290-300. After struggling during the shortened 2020 campaign, Gurriel bounced back with a tremendous 2021 season.
Gurriel won the batting title after hitting a superb .319 with the Astros. He also recorded a stellar .846 OPS and won a Gold Glove award. However, Gurriel endured a down 2022 season and ended up with the Marlins in 2023.
Gurriel enjoyed some good moments in Miami, but his numbers failed to improve for the most part. Regardless, he's still a reliable right-handed bat who can provide value for a big league lineup.
What Yuli Gurriel brings to Braves
As aforementioned, the deal is a minor league contract. So will he earn a big league opportunity if he performs well in the minor leagues?
Matt Olson, who earned MVP consideration in 2023, is Atlanta's first baseman. Barring an injury, Olson is not going anywhere. Gurriel could potentially play third base, but the Braves have another superstar in Austin Riley at the hot corner.
Marcell Ozuna, meanwhile, is the Braves designated hitter.
Nevertheless, Gurriel could become a valuable depth player for the Braves. He's a good contact hitter. Additionally, it isn't as if he can only hit left-handed pitching as a right-handed batter. Gurriel features the ability to find success against both right-handed and left-handed pitching.
Braves' 2024 season
The Braves look like a World Series contender once again. As of this story's writing, Atlanta holds an 8-4 record.
However, it was revealed on Saturday that ace Spencer Strider will miss the entire 2024 season due to an elbow injury. Strider was already expected to miss time, but Braves fans were holding out hope that he would be able to return this season. Now, we won't see the star hurler toe a big league rubber until 2025.
Regardless, the Braves still feature more than enough talent to make a deep playoff run. Perhaps they will attempt to acquire further pitching depth ahead of the trade deadline, but they do not need to worry about that until July.
Offensively, the team is going to be among the best lineups in baseball all season long. And maybe Yuli Gurriel will help matters at some point down the road.
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