Houston Astros Sign Cuban Slugger Yulieski Gurriel
The Houston Astros have made a splash on the international market, signing Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel to a five year contract.
The Houston Astros have made a move to solve their problem at third base this season. They have signed Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel to a 5 year, $47.5 million deal. Gurriel, 32, defected from Cuba in February and was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball last month.
As soon as he was declared a free agent, he drew a ton of interest from Major League ball clubs. Among the teams interested were the San Fransisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and the New York Mets. In the end, the Astros came out the highest bidders giving him $9.5 million a year.
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Gurriel has been considered the best player in Cuba for a long time now. In 15 seasons in the Serie Nacional, he hit a combined .337/.421/.582 with 239 home runs and 118 stolen bases in 5,233 plate appearances. Although he was primarily a third baseman, Gurriel can also transition to play second base and center field. In his most recent Serie Nacional season, Gurriel put up some ridiculous numbers, producing a .500 batting average with 11 home runs in 224 plate appearances. No matter what league you are playing in, you can’t ignore those numbers. The hype surrounding Gurriel seems to be real but we will see if it translates to the big leagues.
The Astros have had some trouble at first base this season. Luis Valbuena is having a good year as a utility infielder, hitting .269/.364/.838 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI’s. But with the struggles of recent call-up and top prospect A.J. Reed, Valbuena may have to get more playing time over at first base. As of yesterday, Reed was hitting .143/.244/.314 on the season, and will be sent back down if those numbers don’t improve. This opens up a spot in the infield for the newly signed Cuban star. With the addition of Gurriel, the Astros infield turns from problematic to very good. With Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve covering the middle infield, the Astros look to have a great infield for years to come.
The Astros currently sit in second place in the AL West, 5.0 games back of the Texas Rangers and 2.0 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the last wild card spot. The biggest issue with the Astros this year is their starting pitching. On the season, their ERA in the starting rotation sits at 4.25 which puts them 12th in Major League Baseball. A contending team needs a starting rotation at least in the top 8 in baseball. They need to make one or two deals at the trade deadline to sure up that rotation. If they can do that, then watch out for the Houston Astros in October.
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The addition of Gurriel was a great move. They added a potentially great infielder with power and average at the plate. The only issue with Gurriel is his age, but he doesn’t seem to care about that. Yulieski Gurriel was a huge gamble for the Houston Astros but if it works out they immediately have one of the best infields in baseball.