May 3: Gurriel has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, the Padres announced this afternoon.
April 29: The Padres are going to designate first baseman Yuli Gurriel for assignment and place infielder Mason McCoy on the 10-day injured list, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. McCoy dislocated his left pinky finger recently. Those will open roster spots for outfielder Jason Heyward and infielder Luis Arráez to be activated from the IL.
Gurriel, 41 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Friars in the offseason. They were looking for some cheap ways to add some offense, with holes in a couple of spots, including their designated hitter and bench mix.
Both Gurriel and Gavin Sheets had good spring performances and cracked the Opening Day roster. Sheets has done a better job of carrying it into the regular season, as he’s hitting .275/.314/.438 for a wRC+ of 111. Gurriel, on the other hand, has produced a dismal .111/.200/.139 line.
Arráez recently landed on the concussion IL, which moved Sheets from a regular designated hitter to a regular first base role. That allowed Gurriel to hang around for while but he would have been hard pressed to find playing time going forward with Arráez back in action. Presumably, Arráez and Sheets will share most of the first base and DH playing time going forward.
The Friars should put Gurriel on waivers in the coming days. Based on his age and recent performance, he’s not likely to garner much interest. He hit .243/.297/.356 for a wRC+ of 82 over the 2022 through 2024 seasons. As a veteran with at least five years of service time, Gurriel would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency in the event he clears waivers.
McCoy’s injury will subtract a bit of infield depth but Heyward might indirectly help with that. Tyler Wade has been covering center field lately due to injuries to Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge. With Heyward now off the IL, he can rejoin the outfield mix alongside Wade, Fernando Tatis Jr., Tirso Ornelas, Oscar González and Connor Joe. If there’s an injury to middle infielders Xander Bogaerts or Jose Iglesias, Wade is capable of moving to the dirt and leaving center field to someone in that group.
Photo courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images
Some kinda nice!
Yeah. That was needed.
finally
Brew…you called it!
Brew – I agree it was time. Still don’t mind the practice of checking out low cost former good players in an aging year. Have to try 3-4 to get a Solano / Peralta but 3-4 guys at 1 mil each has better odds of 1 guy for 4 mil.
This view is limited to #25/26 on the roster though. This year it might be Iglesias (Heyward still a maybe).
I dunno if I called it, just wished for it. Nothing wrong with trying to get a vet to contribute off the bench, but results matter and Gurriel wasn’t Solano/Peralta, more like Carpenter/Cruz.
I think the problem is all 5 of those guys you sign while filling out a roster on Feb/March and you don’t know what you got until they get 50 AB’s.
Peralta isn’t even signed in ‘25 and Solano is struggling bad this year. Never would have thought that after 2024 for them both.
Sign 5 cheap and don’t hang on too long if they aren’t making it. After a few weeks, if none work, maybe the AAA guys have caught fire.
We gave Robinson Cano a shot also and he didn’t do it in his late career audition like Yuli. I can’t say if the price is right you shouldn’t give these guys a chance to see if they can fill a role for you
Whoever brought up Carpenter , you shouldn’t do that to us Cardinals fans!
Do you know how much worse they’ve been because of a6 week hot streak and he made some lousy salsa? He took real baseball players
Place on the team for years!
I wonder if Yuli is more in the range of 47 years old than 41 … maybe 47 is the new 41. Can Elon get DOGE access to Cuban birth certificates??? The original copies?
Brew – tonight Judge hit HR #9. Why is this significant? Because in the same inning, Trent Grisham hit #8!
In 1/2 the ABs!!!!!
WTF?
Grish is still our boy
Brew, of rain stops we get to see Campy tonight. Let’s hope his bat stays hot as it was in AAA. He would be a huge asset in the DH / 3rd C. Let Sheets have some LF time to stay in lineup. After Cro returns, Iglesias can rotate all IF spots to give rest / stay regular.
Not sure why Reynolds hasn’t come up to take Morgan’s spot. Has to be soon. Love Bergert facing 6 guys and getting all out!
I was taken by surprise today with Campy, odd that mlbtr didnt cover it. Wonder what happens Monday (Merrill). Does Campy stay and Maldo get demoted or will they carry 3 catchers and send Gonzales down? What a win!
Brew – they missed that and I didn’t see anything about Tatis after leaving game with HBP that I think a lot of folks that saw it expected to be a long absence (caught a break there – pun intended)!
I think it might be Lockridge sent down since T Wade is hitting and offers similar skill set now that he has some CF experience.
González is also hitting (and power seems to be there but just missing) and with LF still in flux I think he stays – this round.
Maybe it comes down to who needs consistent ABs the most going down to get them.
I sense that the pitching staff is benefiting from the 2 old catchers enough to keep rolling with them but never a bad thing to have that 3rd C as a bench guy especially since Shildt seems to like to PH at the C spot a lot.
Would love to see a SD blowout on offense today to get that rain rolling for NY and take pressure off Kolek. Maybe a big lead and Bergert gets a 3 inning save!
Gurriel is a vet with a track record, who aced his Spring. So, no problem giving him a month to get it together. With the injuries, it was his perfect opportunity to turn and burn and earn himself a job. He failed, so he’s gotta go. (Yeah, I know the stories about how his bat speed has declined, and so forth. But still, veteran MLB + Spring performance = a job on 2/3’s of MLB teams.)
On the other hand, Gurriel counts as a “fail” for AJ Preller’s (very successful) front office, too. They get paid to know who’s still got a shot, and who needs to retire.
Old – I was so with you on that first paragraph but then, AJ and FO is supposed to overlook ST results and see the future in light of having “aced his spring”?
Lol, I was stretching it a bit. However, I do give AJP and the Padres regular props, so I gotta call ’em like I see ’em, when they miss. If Gurriel’s bat speed was dropping, what happened between Spring Training and the team giving him a roster spot. I’m just saying that regardless of the results, if Gurriel was getting lucky hits, was hitting against minor leaguers, and similar things that happen during spring training, you’d think the coaching staff would have looked at his fundamental swing stats. Some guys have hit .300+ in S.T. and don’t get the job, too. Why Gurriel, and what did they miss?
I can’t answer those questions any more than I can answer why scouts can watch a 16 year old and give him $5 million because of what they think he will be at 21! I can see that the same 16 year old is a lot better than the other 16 year olds but still, that’s far from predicting how he will be in 5 years when he faces mlb pitching or hitting!
Agree that in the end, Yuli counts as a miss on the scorecard. Time to try the next guy – J Hey gets a couple more weeks waiting on Merrill and Cro. If J Hey hits then send down Tirso – since he isn’t hitting and a lot of fans believed he deserved a roster spot out of ST – I am pulling for him but Oscar is looking better and T Wade can play CF and all IF spots with late game pinch runner.
And to think he almost cost us Eguy.
Brew – maybe that is where the clairvoyance come into play. AJ knew Eguy would clear?
That’s possible. My ouiji board is quiet now. Not sure what move might be next other than Tirso next out when Merrill returns. Then Locks for Joe?
Yeah, Tirso goes down for JM. I could say send Locks down and keep Joe for backup 1b with Yuli gone and Cro out still because Wade is still there for bench when JM takes CF back.
AJ won’t agree but if J Hey doesn’t turn it around, he can go instead. I’m hoping for a resurgence by J Hey.
Yeah, Wade is staying and that might squeeze Lockridge out, but Joe hasn’t looked good. Will be a tough decision,
I’d like to see Campy get reps at 1b so if he keeps hitting he can be given that “one more shot” taking Joe’s spot.
Problem is that while Campy is a sure thing as a semi-hitting catcher, if he WAS in fact a catcher, he’s kind of ML average at 1st or DH. It’s kind of like Cronenworth. At 2B, his bat is a stand out. At 1B, he’s below average, i.e. a team needs more offense out of a 1B than Cronie is equipped to provide.
It’s almost been interesting, there are always a few guys who appear major league capable, but there’s either this thing or that thing or the other thing, missing from their game. Who knows, maybe Campy becomes a HOF pitch hitter down the road (and maybe pigs can fly).
I recall way back when, there was this “sure thing” high school catcher from San Juan Capistrano, named Hedges. By the time he hit the majors, he was half a catcher, i.e. the non-hitting type. I think he was just a mis-fit on a low budget team, that needed both a defensive genius as well as a solid bat, and that just wasn’t Hedgie’s game. Then came Campy, the next “can’t miss” catcher, who is no longer a MLB prospect. Now, I see Salas, the miracle kid, is slipping down into “Hedges” territory with his bat. I watch the same glowing reports change, from his this 5-tool once in a generation catcher, to “.. he still has very mature catching skills for his age”.
Not giving up on Salas, for Campy either for that matter. But dang if it ain’t “deja vu” all over again.
Ben Davis, Francisco Mejia – left out a few.
Hedges is still making a good living putting on the suit though.
… was just hitting the recent highlights. If we want to go for the list of “Padres false hopes and dreams”, we’d better be sitting at a bar with an open tab and decent pub food. That conversation will take days. 🙈🤣
Jesse Barfield, Jr comes to mind.
Sean Burroughs
That works for me!
Joey Votto has to be out there somewhere
*looks around for a fork*
For Gurriel or Heyward?
Fried rice
Yes.
About time
-2 OPS+.
Negative one for his batting….. the other for his hair.
we all have a better OPS+ than him
he has Arraezen
He hasn’t hit a lick since 2021, but there was every reason that the wisdom and maturity that come with turning 40 would revive his skills. Right? RIGHT?!?
Please, no more over-the-hill 1B/DH types, Preller.
Jd Davis incoming at least he plays two positions.
Does not play well, two positions.
@mlb. He didn’t look bad. Unfortunately I watch the games. Example people look at rengifo stats, and say he’s a wizard, and he’s not.
Cmon Darragh. Way too late. Brew and the multiple Pads Fans knew about this hours ago. Show them some respect and get it out in a timely manner please.
Some Giants fans are just too cute. Must be bottom of the first tonight, u feeling grumpy?
Nah mate. All good. I just love the hysterical level of self entitlement of the Padre girls. Keep banging away. I’m sure they will give in and write what the gang wants soon enough.
Hey Fo, I didn’t complain about the writing, I added information to it. And yet here are spinnin more tales in anguish
I am really quite disappointed in you, Brew. You rarely waste time on the worthless, ignorant trolls, particularly those fanboys of other teams.
Be better. 🙃😁🍻
Ha ha. Please. I don’t believe you. It’s not like you haven’t set a bitchy precedent. Every single Padre post you and the girls are crying about the writers. I don’t know how you do it. Such petty disrespectful BS from adult men blows my mind. Farking funny though. I love that part.
Old Salt. My baseball experience wouldn’t be half of what it is without the efforts of MLBTR writers. Therefore, I feel a responsibility to lob a few grenades back on their behalf. After all, they are too busy providing me with information to do it themselves.
OldSalt. I honestly don’t feel that way about fops, and weirdly enough I actually get some of his frustration with some fans. Guilt by association I suppose. It’s a back and forth that’s gone on for awhile but pretty harmless for me anyway. The core of it all has been the 962 Cease trade rumor articles, which I find rather amusing but foppsy has taken issue with my calling writers on it
I appreciate mlbtr as well, donate to it.
Then show it, dude. You can write it as much as you want but I’m not believing it when you harass them over and over and over again. It’s just words. Easy to type. Sure, you aren’t the main offender, but you are kidding yourself if you don’t have yourself as a major contributor.
You can not believe me, or, you can read what I actually wrote, your choice.
My apologies to you both. Misread the situation.
Ok. Happy to review the situation.
Girls or men? Make up your mind
I agree whit you JD Davis
Yu gets the last laugh.
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving player
Darvish waves and says “No soup for Yuli”.
Ummbyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Big game tonight for the Padres and Nick Pivetta.
I love what Pivetta has done so far this year but he won’t be able to keep it up. The HR ball had always been his kryptonite and it will eventually rear its ugly head. He’s due for a 3IP, 8ER game soon. The only thing good about that is Pivetta has a short memory and can come back from a drubbing with a 7-8 inning gem.
Never underestimate the Niebla effect
that’s the classic Pivetta blow up – he is usually good for one a month but his start this season has been somewhat of an outlier.
Never liked signing a blatant racist. Take your tired act to Atlanta Yuleee.
Yuli is cooked, has been for a while but I think this closes the door on his MLB career. He’s got 64 million, a batting title and two World Series in the bag, dude is set for life.
Uhh ,.. how many ex-wives and kids has he got? $64M doesn’t go as far as it used to. Ask Elon. 🤣
I wonder how solid Heyward’s knee is. Is he going to be able to use his speed, which is a big part of his game, to go get ’em in LF (or even backup CF)? Will it impact his bat? Speaking as an old guy with sore knees (and other joints), good luck to Heyward.
About time. The Maldonado and Heyward countdown begins.
Heyward is still serviceable, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a mid-season upgrade.. maybe Verdugo? I dunno what to make of Maldonado. Awful across the board unless his gamecalling as a backup C offsets everything else. I want to see Campusano succeed long-term, and I’m wondering if Padres are committed to him spending a full year in AAA honing his defense.
Free Luis Campusano!
Bumperstickers will be issued
Yuli could play in Asia, make fun of his teammates, opponents and fans. Actually wouldn’t have to report the camp. Just have fun making fun of people at the airport
time for yuli to try coaching
Gurriel has had a nice career, won a pair of rings and made some money but it’s time to walk away.
Should have gone to Eguy in first place.
Padres need to active on LF market. Name to keep an eye on is Dalton Varsho
Currently rehabbing but comes with an arb year next year. Could be had for cheap if Blue Jays want to put his salary elsewhere since they have a plethora of OF options currently
Varsho’s value comes from his excellent CF defense.
You want Merrill in left? Doubt that you want to move your LT CF to left for Varsho. Get a corner outfielder who can actually hit and will cost less to play the position.
Yeah that would really suck to have 3 gold glove caliber defensive OFs in LF Varsho CF Merrill and RF Tatis Jr
There’s not many LH LF OF bats available actually.
Verdugo would be a low-cost pickup, I imagine. Padres should’ve just signed him instead of Gurriel to begin the season.
He was a curious signing in the first place. Sheets playing as well as he has made him expendable.
I don’t blame him if he can get on with another team, but it looks like he’s done. I’m even more surprised that the Padres have Maldonado on their roster still. He had some hits early this year but his deteriorating defense and dismal offense should become evident well before the All-Star break
I called it coming out of spring training that Gurriel would be gone before May 1 with a combination of Heyward, Joe and Maldonado by end of May.
I can see then keeping Joe from an age standpoint and his game fits the Padres needs going forward…Heyward will get progressively worse with his knee and Maldonado will get pushed by Campusano but maybe they keep him as that veteran presence behind the plate that actually does carry some value. Getting Merrill back along with Lockridge will be a huge boost to his line up.
Hey 3. More immediately, assuming Wade keeps his spot once Merrill and Lockridge return from IL, only one of Lockridge and Joe can remain on the roster. Which one is sent to El Paso? Joe is perhaps a better positional fit and Wade gives them the speed option, but Lockridge has performed and I think the team now values him enough that he stays.
Merrill for Ornelas, Lockridge for Joe, Cronenworth for Gonzalez. Bench is Sheets, Heyward/Lockridge, Wade, Iglesias, and Diaz/Maldonado. Gives Shildt a few platoon options IF/OF; it’s unfortunate that so many of their lefty options are on the right side of the infield. Really needs a powerful RH LF/1B/DH type.
Overall, Ornelas and Gonzalez look fine in the early going and I’m sure they’ll be up again at some point.
Very likely scenario straight
Oh no!
Anyway…
Gurriel was only good because of the trash can.
Lockridge is back tonight and they sent down Tirso Ornelas…