16:49: While Gurriel has been on the minor league injured list for a little over a week with the Braves, Romero reports that the veteran is en route to Houston to report to the major league Royals during their series against the Astros. The Royals did not have to add Gurriel to their 40-man roster when he was signed today because he was on a minor league contract, but they must make appropriate moves to add him to the 40-man and active rosters to promote him to the major leagues.
16:19: The Royals sign the first baseman Julia Gurrielaccording to a report by Francys Romero. Gurriel, 40, was with the Braves this year on a minor league contract. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Braves will receive a cash payment in exchange for Gurriel’s services. Although the trade deadline passed last month, Gurriel was still eligible for a trade because he has not yet played in the major leagues this season. The Royals then announced the transfer.
Gurriel, 40, has played in the major leagues for the past eight seasons after coming over after 15 years in Cuba’s Serie Nacional. The veteran spent most of his major league time in Houston, for whom he played first base, with occasional guest appearances at second and third base. In seven years with the Astros, Gurriel hit a solid .284/.328/.448 with a wRC+ of 111. That includes a stellar 2021 season with the club, where he batted .319 en route to the AL batting title and earned his only career Gold Glove Award. After a weak 2022 season, Gurriel left the Astros (who replaced him at first base with an ill-fated contract for Jose Abreu), but found a place on Miami’s roster as a part-time first baseman and DH.
The veteran’s time in Miami didn’t produce the comeback season he had hoped for, as Gurriel hit just .245/.304/.359 (76 wRC+) with a career-high 13.4% strikeout rate and a career-low .114 isolated slugging percentage. After a second straight difficult season, Gurriel couldn’t find a spot on the roster before his 40th season and was forced to start again with Atlanta in April. At the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, Gurriel has looked impressive, posting a .292/.378/.495 slash line with 12 home runs, 18 doubles and a triple in just 333 plate appearances this year.
Among the injuries in the Braves infield Austin Riley And Ozzie Albies and this strong performance, the Braves even began to experiment with Gurriel at second and third base, as they seemed to be toying with the possibility of calling the veteran up to the Major League, although the Major League contracts for Whit Merrifield And Gio Urshela has closed the doors to the major league club in a relatively short period of time. Although Gurriel will not be moving up to the major leagues with the Braves this year, another door has now opened for the veteran as he looks for an opportunity to participate in his ninth major league season. Much like the Braves, the Royals recently lost a key part of their infield mix to injuries when first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino suffered a broken thumb and Kansas City announced yesterday that he will be out for six to eight weeks.
This leaves a young Royals club heading for its first playoff appearance since winning the World Series in 2015 without one of its best hitters, and although the team added veterans Tommy Pham And Robbie Grossman These changes have added to their outfield mix today, but they have done little to strengthen first base. Gurriel is doing just that by bringing in a long-time veteran at that position, giving them additional depth and a contact-oriented bat at that position. The Royals rely on a combination of Nick Loftin and experienced backstop Salvador Perez on days when he is not behind the plate to fill in for Pasquantino since the latter was benched.
