Yuli Gurriel was scratched from tonight’s Astros game with neck stiffness, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Rome goes on to say that Gurriel was in “obvious discomfort” before speaking with the trainer. The 37-year-old is having his best season to date, with a slash of .324/.388/.490, producing a wRC+ of 145 and 3.0 fWAR. The extent of the injury is unclear at this point. But losing that level of production for any amount of time would be difficult to replace.
Help could be on the way, however, as Alex Bregman’s rehab is continuing tonight, according to Rome. There was some worry yesterday when he was pulled from a rehab game with hamstring tightness. But that seems to have been merely precautionary. Dusty Baker told Mark Berman of Fox 26 that they’re still hopeful he can return for their upcoming homestand, which runs from August 5th to 11th.
Other AL West notes…
- Rome hears from Baker that Jose Urquidy is going to throw off a mound this week. Urquidy is currently mired in his second IL this year because of shoulder issues. When healthy, he’s been a solid member of Houston’s rotation, logging 77 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.38. His strikeout rate is a bit low at 21.8%, but his walk rate is an excellent 4.3%. His most recent IL placement was in late June, meaning he will presumably need a few rehab starts to rebuild his workload after missing more than a month.
- Chad Pinder was taking grounders on the field today, according to Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle. A’s Manager Bob Melvin says that Pinder hasn’t yet run the bases but “sprinting feels close to 100 percent.” The utility man has been out since July 8th with a hamstring strain. Before that, he was having a disappointing season, with a slash of .216/.269/.358. He might struggle to find playing time when he returns, given the recent additions of Starling Marte and Josh Harrison to the Oakland lineup.
Holy cow Yuli Gurriel is 37 years old?! I thought he was way younger.
Saw him in the 2006 World Baseball Classic playing for Cuba.
Yeah, feels older than he is. He’s been around for quite a while. Started playing when he was 17 in 2001.
He has a much younger brother (Lourdes) just in case you were thinking of him. I wish he had signed with the Astros as well. I imagine he would have liked playing with his brother.
i think they did in Cuba
Plays like a 25 year old. I’d take a whole team of 37 YO’s if they can hit like Gurriel.
Half of the Astros losses so far this season have been attributable to their bullpen. Their starters are a combined 46-21 and their relievers are a combined 19-21 this year. After the additions of Graveman, Yimi Garcia, and Maton plus the impending return of Josh James, Pedro Baez, and Jose Urquidy (who will likely send Luis Garcia to the bullpen) from the IL what was once the single glaring weakness on this team will soon become one of the myriad of their strengths.
I dunno man. That starting rotation has been looking tired recently. Garcia definitely needs some pen time. Framber seems to be most affected by the”sticky stuff” crackdown. McCullers held his own tonight, but he’s up and down. Greinke… literally hit and miss. Urquidy might be the best of them and he can’t stay healthy. Cristian Javier is either lights out or a BB-giving machine.
Bullpen should be the new strength, but SP might be the new concern.
Just need to have it all come together in October.
Easy to say in August.
Just need to come up with a new way to cheat by October.
Just need to come up with original idea by yesterday
You are 100% correct. When Javier is off, I might as well be pitching.
Agreed