The Marlins have been in contact with free agent first baseman Yuli Gurriel, according to Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald and Alejandro Villegas of 5 Reasons Sports.
Gurriel, 39 in June, has spent his entire MLB career with the Astros thus far. He signed with them out of Cuba in 2016, a five-year deal that covered the 2016-2020 period. After a brief showing in the first year of that deal, Gurriel established himself as an above-average regular in the three subsequent seasons. From 2017 through 2019, he walked in just 4.7% of his trips to the plate but he also only struck out 10.9% of the time. He hit 62 home runs and produced an overall batting line of .296/.333/.486. His 119 wRC+ in that time indicates he was 19% better than league average.
The past three years have been far less consistent, however. Gurriel slumped badly in the shortened 2020 season, hitting just .232/.274/.384 for a wRC+ of 76. Nonetheless, the Astros had enough faith in him that they gave him a one-year extension with a club option for 2022. He bounced back in a huge way, winning the American League batting title in 2021 by hitting .319 and producing a 132 wRC+. The club triggered their club option for 2022 but saw Gurriel slump again, hitting .242/.288/.360, 86 wRC+, though he did catch fire in the postseason and hit .347/.360/.490. His market has been quiet so far this offseason, with the only reported interest coming from the Astros, though that was before they signed José Abreu.
The Fish don’t strictly need to add a first baseman since they already have Garrett Cooper lined up for that position. He’s been an above-average hitter in each of the past four seasons but is frequently injured, having yet to reach 120 games in any season of his career. Acquiring Gurriel would give them some extra cover or allow the club to monitor the workloads of the two players. Both players are right-handed but Cooper has reverse splits, meaning some platooning is possible. He has a 119 wRC+ against righties for his career but a 113 against lefties. It was even more pronounced in 2022, with a 79 against southpaws and a 125 otherwise.
There’s also the possibility of the duo taking some time at designated hitter, though that it somewhat complicated by the presence of Jorge Soler. The outfielder missed significant time in 2022 due to back spasms and reports have indicated he’ll likely get the bulk of his playing time in the DH slot next year.
All this makes Gurriel a slightly awkward fit on the roster but his inconsistent track record in recent years and advancing age probably mean he won’t cost much. That surely makes him appealing to a fairly low-spending Marlins club. The payroll is currently around $103MM, per the calculations of Roster Resource. That’s fairly modest by MLB standards but the club has only once gone higher than that, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, which was back in 2017 under the previous ownership group. Last year, they opened the season with just $79MM on the books.
Whatever the cost, adding Gurriel would be another attempt for the club to add some more offense to its tepid lineup, which produced a wRC+ of 88 last year, placing them 25th out of the 30 teams in the league. They’ve already signed Jean Segura as part of that effort and have also been trying to trade from their rotation surplus for quite some time, though a deal still hasn’t come together.
For the young guys.
I’ve been in contact with my ex mother in law, how well do you think that went?
She might not be 40, but how well does it turn out after that?
If your ex mother in law isn’t 40, I’d guess she scratched your eyes out, pulled out every hair on your body, choked you to death with your bag and left your sorry a$$ for the gators.
Which one?
He is a doubles machine, he could come back and have a decent year for the fish.
He’s a doubles guy mainly because his power has dropped off significantly. Pretty clear from watching his 22 season that age is the factor. He did end on a high note with a great postseason. Veteran leadership is something he could definitely bring to a team like MIA.
Although he had a down year, 40 doubles is pretty impressive and would definitely be helpful for the fish lineup. I could see him splitting time with Coop at first and maybe spell Segura at 3rd on occasion. I’d still prefer Miami target Duvall who can be there starting LF and occasional CF if needed
Whoa, I had no clue he was pushing 40.
This team needs offense anyway they can get it. Guy led the league in hitting in 2021. Problem is when pretty much most of your lineup is coming off of down years. Wouldnt be surprised to see a rebound from Soler, Garcia, et.al. but relying on that isnt a winning strategy.
I love the idea of giving a boost to their offense by signing a guy who had a lower wRC+ than their team last year. And who plays the same position as one of their only above average position players. How’s that work exactly?
Yeah, this makes no sense to me either. They need offense – nope. They need youth – nope. They need to acquire players on these short contracts that they can flip for prospects/youth if they’re not contending at the deadline – nope.
It doesn’t seem like a very viable move to me. They’d be better off teying to bring Freddy Galvis back from Japan on higher pay because he can switch-hit, has average OPS, and plays good defense at multiple IF positions, including being a true SS.
He looked so old and slow the first couple months of the season; I sincerely thought he was toast. But in the playoffs, he looked basically exactly like prime yuli at the plate. His bat speed increased as the season went along, so maybe there was more to his early season struggles than meets the eye.
I agree, good take. He’s only one year removed from a gold glove and a batting title. With his advancing age I think he can still perform at a high level for short bursts like he did in the playoffs. I think at this point in his career shouldering the responsibilities of an every day player may be beyond him
Good to see MIA making late hot stove connections!
Excellent analysis, SODOM. You nailed it. I couldn’t agree more.
Too many of the Marlins’ acquisitions and acquisition targets over the last few years including Gurriel can be described as “a slightly awkward fit.”
Marlins finished 32 games behind the Mets but people here think the Marlins need one or two more players to catch the Mets! Lmao
What do you mean, “catch the Mets”? The Braves have won the division every year since 2018.
Well said Fink!
Typical NY Mets made-up stuff by @david1979. He could work for their “news” companies.
Pretty sure if they have even slightly better hitting that they will have a more than decent chance at catching the Mets when their rotation of geriatrics inevitably hits the injured list.
No one cares about the runner up Mets
Baseball Reference quotes revenue sharing numbers from 2018. Assuming that they haven’t gone down, what does a team like the Marlins do with the $209M that they get from MLB? Doesn’t look like they put enough of it on the field.
“In Major League Baseball, 48% of local revenues are subject to revenue sharing and are distributed equally among all 30 teams, with each team receiving 3.3% of the total sum generated. As a result, in 2018, each team received $118 million from this pot. Teams also receive a share of national revenues, which were estimated to be $91 million per team, also in 2018.”
baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Revenue_sharing
Now go on and list all the expenses of running a MLB team. Stadium costs, insurance, up keep, payment on debt, advertising, cost of non player staffing, minor league operations, travel, food, lodging,… Can’t wait to see how it balances out!
While i highly doubt the Marlins are playing games with their numbers, the previous regime under Loria was constantly crying that they were losing money, and it was revealed they were turning a profit because of the revenue sharing and werent putting it back into the team.
@stymeedone, my reference was only to revenue sharing, it doesn’t include the $10M per year the Marlins get from Loandepot naming rights or gate receipts etc The Marlins keep the ticket sales but the county owns the stadium, so utilities and upkeep as well as the $634M that the county bonded out and will cost $2.4B at maturity are on the taxpayers. Loria had to give the county 5% of the sale price of the team as part of the stadium deal and for that the Marlins make out much better than other teams that don’t have the taxpayers financing stadiums.
Marlins payroll will be about $110-$120M, revenues including the revenue sharing I referenced about $270M. Considering the stadium deal, do the other expenses add up to $150M? It would be nice to think that at least half of revenues could be on the field.
Still a clutch hitter. Demonstrated that in the playoffs. He will be a plus for whomever signs him.
If he can still handle 3B, I know it been a while, wouldn’t mind seeing him on Detroit’s bench. Insurance for Torkelson and Kreidler.
The Marlins love Latino players
Of their 23 pitchers on the 40-man, I count 15 non-Latino players.
Neither of the two catchers appears to be Latino.
Only two of the six infielders appear to be Latino.
The only position with Latinos in the majority is the outfield, where five of the seven are Latino.
Jorge Soler, every time I hear his name I think of a player who could have been a superstar with a little more effort. Him and Gary Sanchez are probably the top players having born with talent that just throw it away. It’s unfortunate how they are only willing to go as far as that talent takes them. Imagine either one having the heart of Brett Gardner.
Yuli might put a few more butts in the seats, which would be a plus, and he’s durable for his age. But Gurriel is used to playing every day, and he’s way better than Cooper at first base. Maybe they can split time as a DH, and Soler will just have to suck it up with his bad back and get extra treatment. Everybody will hit better with Yuli in the lineup
Won a gold glove at 38. Marlins need someone who is young and more consistent. Should at least try to get Bryan Reynolds in a 3 team trade with a package centered around Pablo Lopez.
Hey! Yuli, don’t do that thing with your eyes when you meet Kim.
Cheater, strange hair, racist, and a former Astro. What’s not to like?
At least he’s not a loser and former Yankee
Reaching for the stars.
Kim ….please make a trade for A Star!
I’m surprised he hasn’t been linked to the Rays. He’d be a good low-risk fit and they have a vacancy at first. At the very least, he could fill the spot while they do their time manipulation shenanigans with Curtis Mead.
Didnt bother going for Mancini or Hosmer, but they want this dude? This team is so freaking weird. Bring Lewin Diaz back already.
This article made me giggle because I thought the Marlins and Jay’s would’ve lined up well for a trade, that would’ve needed one of the starters to Toronto, and Lourdes to Miami, to then join his bro and give Miami an offensive punch with some Cuban flair.
Business decision. Popular player in Cuba. MIA trying to expand its market.
He is good during odd years and bad during even years. He has been that way his entire MLB career. This is the perfect time to sign him.
This would have been amazing a few years ago, but right now I’m struggling to see the fit