Royals Select Yuli Gurriel

The Royals announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, headlined by the club selecting the contract of infielder Yuli Gurriel. The club acquired Gurriel in a cash trade with the Braves yesterday. Also added to the club’s active roster were outfielders Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman, both of whom were claimed off waivers by Kansas City yesterday, and right-hander Alec Marsh, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha. In corresponding moves, left-hander Anthony Veneziano was designated for assignment while infielder Nick Loftin and outfielder Tyler Gentry were both optioned to Triple-A.

Gurriel, 40, is returning to the majors for his ninth big league season. The veteran infielder first came to the big leagues at age-32 as a member of the Astros after a 15-year tenure in Cuba’s Serie Nacional and spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Astros. The two-time World Series champion slashed a respectable .284/.328/.448 during his time in Houston and enjoyed a standout season in 2021 where he earned the AL Gold Glove at first base and led his league in batting average with a .319 figure.

Since that excellent 2021 campaign, Gurriel’s performance in the big leagues has been lackluster. He’s taken 913 trips to the plate since the start of the 2022 season with the Astros and Marlins, and in that time he’s hit just .243/.294/.359 with a wRC+ of 82 during that time. That’s well below par for even a part-time first baseman in the majors, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise when Gurriel had to settle for a minor league deal with the Braves back in April after failing to secure a big league roster spot over the offseason. Fortunately for the veteran, however, he excelled with the club at the Triple-A level and slashed an excellent .292/.378/.495 in 333 plate appearances with the club’s affiliate at Gwinnett.

That strong performance opened the door for Gurriel to make it back to the big leagues, albeit not with the organization for whom he put up those numbers. The loss of Vinnie Pasquantino for the remainder of the regular season left the Royals with a clear hole to fill at first base and led them to acquire Gurriel yesterday, just before the deadline to add a player to your organization in order for them to have postseason eligibility. Gurriel now figures to get the lion’s share of playing time at first base down the stretch, though it’s possible that franchise face Salvador Perez could still mix in at the position on occasion when Freddy Fermin is behind the plate.

The Royals are surely hoping for a solid month of production from Gurriel, but even the lackluster numbers he posted with the Marlins last year would be an improvement over Loftin, who had been handling first base in recent days and has struggled to a .189/.282/.236 slash line this year. Gurriel is joined by veteran outfielders Grossman and Pham as last-minute additions to the Royals roster. Both Pham and Grossman have been roughly league average hitters this year with wRC+ figures of 98 and 92 respectively, but the trio of veterans have plenty of postseason experience under their belts and should provide leadership in a young Royals clubhouse and help stabilize a lineup that has struggled to produce outside of Perez, Fermin, and Bobby Witt Jr. this year.

Making way for Gurriel on the 40-man roster is Veneziano, who is celebrating his 27th birthday today. The lefty made his big league debut last year and has just 4 1/3 innings of work under his belt at the major league level, though he’s posted a solid 2.08 ERA with a 3.91 FIP in that limited time. The lefty’s minor league numbers have left much to be desired, however, as he’s posted a 4.80 ERA in 90 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year. That seemingly left Veneziano as an expendable piece in the eyes of Royals brass, who will now have one week to attempt to pass him through waivers. Any team that claims the lefty won’t have the opportunity to use him in the postseason this year, but even so it’s not hard to imagine a rival club having some interest in a lefty with experience both starting and relieving and options remaining, particularly if they have an eye toward 2025 and beyond.