Cuban star Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen reports (Twitter links). Gurriel is subject to international bonus pools now since he is just 22 years old, though he’ll be free of any spending restrictions when he turns 23 on October 19.
The expectation is that Gurriel won’t sign until after his next birthday, as his market will be open to all 30 teams. Ten teams (including such big spenders as the Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees) are currently limited to signings of no more than $300K for pool-eligible international players, as the clubs exceeded their pool limits in either of the last two years. Since teams beyond those ten may not want to exceed their own pool for a big splash on Gurriel, it only makes sense that Gurriel and his representatives at WMG would wait until after October 19 to ensure the maximum number of suitors given the wide interest in Gurriel’s talents.
Gurriel has a career .277/.362/.426 line over 1098 career plate appearances in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, with much of his success coming in the last two years. In a scouting report from April 2015 (subscription required), Baseball America’s Ben Badler ranked Gurriel as the fourth-best player in Cuba at the time, crediting his patient approach at the plate, bat speed and good command of the strike zone. Gurriel has “a chance to be a plus hitter with a high OBP” with potential 20-homer power. Gurriel has played all four infield positions and in left field during his brief career, mostly recently getting a chance at shortstop. Badler doubts he has the range to stick at the position in the majors, though he could be a plus defender at third base. There are some cons, however, as Longenhagen tweets that Gurriel has received some “mixed” reports from scouts — he has a long swing and may be a “bit of a project for 23.”
Concerns notwithstanding, Gurriel will certainly receive a bonus well into the eight-figure range. Many teams will check in, though the Astros stand out as an obvious candidate since they have already signed Gurriel’s older brother Yulieski. The younger Gurriel will require probably a year or two of minor league seasoning, which could give Houston give to figure out where exactly it would fit him into a lineup already stocked with established and young talent (Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, A.J. Reed and Yulieski himself) at Gurriel’s potential positions. Yulieski has spoken in the past about playing with his brother under ideal circumstances, though he acknowledged the difficulties in such an arrangement given how the two are at such different stages of their careers.
This will 99% come down to money, maybe if Houston deal is really close to top that will give them slight edge, but the comments about the bros wanting to play with each should come with grain of salt.
Does AJ still have anything left in Fowlers wallet?
Bregman and Reed are not established- they’ve done nothing at the Major League level yet. And that’s where it matters the most. They both may very well pan out (I am not worried about Bregman long term really) but the jury is still very much out on Reed. Maybe you’re just counting them in the “young” category (not established), but bottom line is that the Astros should be unconcerned about where Lourdes would potentially fit in their lineup 2 years from now. If they sign him and he plays his way to the majors, I’m sure they will find a spot for him.
He needs some time in the minors, and the Astros have lots of holes in the offense. He can either be part of the future or a trade chip b
is he a right handed batter?
I can see the Angels placing a substantial bid for Gurriel. They’ll have Weaver and Wilson’s contracts off of the books and one way they can improve their farm is by buying prospects. Jr can play 2B or 3B after a season or two in the minors.
Cubs get him to replace Torres loss
He’s an Astro just wait. They have a good rep for building young talent and making their prospects rich. Add him to the loaded lineup that has underperformed. See you in 2018 Lourdes.