Yulieski Gurriel Castillo (born June 9, 1984), commonly known asYuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professionalbaseballfirst baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theHouston Astros,Miami Marlins,Kansas City Royals, andSan Diego Padres, and inNippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for theYokohama DeNA BayStars. Gurriel is a former member ofCuba's national team and anOlympic Games gold medalist in2004.
The son of former Cuban playerLourdes Gourriel, Gurriel was regarded as the best player in Cuba in 2006. At the2006 World Baseball Classic, MLB scouts projected that Gurriel would be a first-round draft pick were he eligible for the draft.[1] Hedefected from Cuba in 2016 and made his major league debut that year.[2]
In his first full MLB season, the 33-year old Gurriel helped lead the Astros to the2017 World Series championship over theLos Angeles Dodgers, making him the fifth player to have won both an Olympic Games gold medal and a World Series title. He also helped lead the club toAmerican League (AL) pennants over theNew York Yankees in2019 and2022, as well as theBoston Red Sox in2021. Gurriel won a second World Series title with the Astros over thePhiladelphia Phillies in2022.
In 2021, Gurriel won the ALbatting title, becoming thesecond Cuban-born player to achieve this. At age 37, Gurriel tiedTony Gwynn (.372 in1997),Barry Bonds (.370 in2002), andGeorge Brett (.329 in1990) as the second oldest player in the divisional era (since 1969) to win a batting title; the only player who was older was Bonds, who also led the NL at age 39 in2004.[3] Gurriel was also the ALGold Glove Award winner at first base in 2021, becoming the oldest player to win a Gold Glove at that position untilCarlos Santana won the award at age 38 in2024.[4][5]
Gurriel had a solid season during the2004–05 Cuban National Series (CNS), leading the league inhits andruns scored. However, he truly dominated in2005–06, leading the series inruns batted in (RBI), runs, and triples.[6] His 27 home runs, which also led the league, were one short of the record of 28.[7] Gurriel's batting average was .327, and his slugging percentage was .676. He played his Cuban career withSancti Spíritus andIndustriales of theCuban National Series.
On May 11, 2014, Gurriel signed a one-year contract with theYokohama DeNA BayStars.[8] He joined the team at midseason, and batted .305 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 62 games.[9]
In February 2016, Gurriel and his then-22-year-old brother,Lourdes Jr., defected after competing in theCaribbean Series in theDominican Republic[10] and relocated toHaiti to establish residency. In Haiti in June 2016, Gurriel met futureHouston Astros teammateYordan Alvarez, who is also Cuban.[11] In June,Major League Baseball declared Gurriel eligible to be signed by a major league team as afree agent.[12]
Nearly 10 years prior,ESPN.com had erroneously reported that Gurriel and another Cuban national player,Eduardo Paret, had defected from Cuba and intoColombia.[13] Gurriel refuted this claim on August 1, 2006, stating that he returned to his home in Cuba immediately after the tournament in which the Cuban national team had been playing.[14]
"Cuban players have been systematically overhyped, but had Yulieski Gurriel defected at 21 rather than 31, he probably ends up in theHall of Fame," saidJoe Kehoskie, a former agent who followed Cuban baseball closely, in August 2016.[15]
Gurriel's brother, Lourdes Jr., signed with theToronto Blue Jays on November 12, 2016.[16]
On July 16, 2016, Gurriel signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract with theHouston Astros.[17][18] He played in 15 games in the Astros'minor league system that year. He made his American debut in July with theGulf Coast Astros of theRookie-levelGulf Coast League, playing in two games. He was then promoted to theLancaster JetHawks of theClass A-AdvancedCalifornia League. After playing in four games for Lancaster, the Astros promoted Gurriel to theCorpus Christi Hooks of theDouble-ATexas League.[19] He batted 2-for-17 (.118) in five games for Corpus Christi, and was promoted to theFresno Grizzlies of theTriple-APacific Coast League.[20] He was recalled from Fresno to the major league roster on August 21. In his first 19 games with the Astros, he batted .344 with three home runs and eight runs batted in, playing mostly first and third base defensively.[21]
Over 139 games in2017, Gurrielbatted .299/.332/.486 for a 121adjusted OPS (OPS+). He hit 3 doubles, 18 home runs, 75 RBI and had 22walks and 62 strikeouts.[2] He finished seventh overall in theAmerican League (AL) in doubles, second in at bats per strikeout (8.5),[22] while seeing the fewest number of pitches per plate appearance in the major leagues (3.43).[23] He led major league rookies in batting, ranked second among AL rookies in hits (158) andextra base hits (62), and third in runs (69) and OPS (.817). Gurriel set club rookie records for doubles and extra base hits—previously held by Hunter Pence (30 and 56,2007); for slugging percentage—previously held byJeff Bagwell (.437,1991); and fortotal bases—previously held byJoe Morgan (251,1965).[24] Defensively, Gurriel ranked second among AL first basemen with 90assists.[25]
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Gurriel placed fourth in the ALRookie of the Year voting.[26] TheHouston chapter of theBaseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) named him the Astros Rookie of the Year.[24]
In Game 3 of theWorld Series, Gurriel hit a home run off JapaneseLos Angeles Dodgers pitcherYu Darvish, and upon returning to thedugout, made a racist gesture mocking the pitcher. Gurriel was caught on camera stretching the sides of his eyes and mouthing the Spanish wordchinito, which translates to "little Chinese Boy".[27][28] Gurriel apologized and said that anyone from Asia is called achino in Cuba, although he acknowledged that he knew the term was offensive from having played in Japan.[27][29] Gurriel was suspended for the first five games of the2018 season without pay but not for the World Series.[30] He was required to undergo sensitivity training in the offseason. The Astros said that they would donate Gurriel's salary lost during the suspension to a charity that supports diversity efforts.[31]
In Game 5, Gurriel hit a three-run home run off Dodgers star pitcherClayton Kershaw in the fourth inning to tie the game 4–4; the Astros would go on to win 13–12. In Game 7, Gurriel faced Darvish again, and tipped his helmet before his at bat as a respectful gesture. The Astros won the game 5–1, giving them their first world championship in franchise history.[32] Gurriel became the fifth player to have won both anOlympic gold medal and a World Series championship.[33][34]
After both hitting two home runs on September 21,2018, Gurriel and his brother Lourdes, Jr., who was playing for theToronto Blue Jays, became the first pair of brothers to achieve multi-home run games in the major leagues on the same day. Gurriel was named ALPlayer of the Week for the first time on September 23, having batted .462 with a .923 slugging percentage, three home runs, and 10 RBI.[35] For the season, he batted .291/.323/.428. He hit .403 with runners inscoring position (RISP), the second-highest average in the major leagues behindJoe Mauer (.407). Gurriel set a new club record for average with RISP in one season, bestingJosé Cruz' .389 average set in1986.[36]
Gurriel became the first Astro with a run and RBI in seven consecutive games and the fifth to homer in five consecutive games, on July 7,2019, including a game-tying grand slam in doing so in an 11–10 win over theLos Angeles Angels. He won the AL Player of the Week Award for the week ending July 8, his second weekly honor, after homering in all five of the Astros games for a total of six, among nine hits and an OPS of 1.812.[37] He went on to win the ALPlayer of the Month Award for July, his first time, after batting .398/.427/.837 SLG with 18 runs scored, seven doubles, 12 home runs, and 31 RBIs over 24 games.[38] In a 14–3 romp over theColorado Rockies on August 7, Gurriel homered and tiedJ. R. Towles with eight RBIs for the club record in one game.[39]
Gurriel batted .298/.343./.541 in 2019, with 40 doubles, 31 home runs, 104 RBI, 65 strikeouts and 305 total bases, ranking fifth in the AL in doubles and ninth in RBI. He established career-highs in numerous categories, including in games played (144), on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, runs (85), hits (168), home runs, RBI, and walks (37). At age 35, Gurriel became the oldest player in Astros history to produce 40+ doubles, 30+ HR and 100+ RBI in one season, surpassing Jeff Bagwell's age-33 campaign in2001. Gurriel was the third-oldest player in MLB history to reach those milestones, afterDavid Ortiz' 2016 season at age 40 andVinny Castilla at age 36 in 2004.[36]
In Game 7 of the2019 World Series versus theWashington Nationals, Gurriel hit a second-inning solo home run offMax Scherzer to give the Astros a 1–0 lead. The Astros eventually lost the game, 6–2, as the Nationals earned their first championship.[2] In the 2019 postseason, Gurriel batted .250, 18-for-72, with five strikeouts and a club-leading 13 RBI.[36]
In2020, Gurriel endured his most challenging season in the major leagues to that point. He batted .232/.274/.384 with 27 runs, six home runs, 22 RBI, and five sacrifice flies (tied for second in the AL) in 211 at bats, playing 55 games at first base and two at DH.[2] In an expanded postseason format, he went 5-for-44, all singles,[40] as theTampa Bay Rays defeated the Astros in theALCS.[41]
On September 29, 2020, the Astros signed Gurriel to a one-year extension with a club option for 2022.[40]
Following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Gurriel lost 15 pounds (6.8 kg). On May 7,2021, versus theBlue Jays, he recorded four hits, including one home run, and four RBIs. Through 31 games in the season, he had surpassed his RBI total (24) and walk total (16) in 2020 while batting .342/.420/.553 and leading the Astros with 12 multi-hit games and in RBIs.[40] In the final game of the 2021 regular season, Gurriel hit a walk-off single to scoreJason Castro and defeat theOakland Athletics.[42]
In 2021, Gurriel batted .319 to edge out teammateMichael Brantley and Blue JayVladimir Guerrero Jr. for the ALbatting title. At age 37, he was the sixth-oldest player to win a batting title, the oldest to win their first batting title sinceBarry Bonds in2002, and the first Cuban player sinceTony Oliva in1971.[43] Gurriel tied for the major league lead in sacrifice flies, with 12.[44] His final slash line included .319/.383/.462, 15 home runs, 81 RBIs, a career-best 59 walks and 68 strikeouts. He also led the Astros inon-base percentage (OBP, .383), hits (169), and walk-to-strikeout ratio (.868).[42] On defense, Gurriel led all AL first basemen with 86 assists and ranked in the top five with fivedefensive runs saved, 1,147 total chances, 95 double plays and a .994 fielding percentage. He won his first careerGold Glove Award, becoming the second Astro to win the award at the position and first since Bagwell.[45]
In theALCS versus theBoston Red Sox, Gurriel batted .455/.520/.636, with 10 hits, one home run, one double, six RBI, one stolen base, three bases on balls, and one strikeout. In theWorld Series, Gurriel batted .273 with no home runs and two RBIs as the Astros lost to theAtlanta Braves in six games.[2] Gurriel was, again, the final out of the series, grounding to Braves shortstopDansby Swanson. This marked the third time Gurriel was the final out of a championship-clinching game. Game 6 also was the 73rd postseason start together for the infield unit of Gurriel,Jose Altuve,Alex Bregman, andCarlos Correa, which was more postseason starts than any quartet of teammates in major league history, surpassing the Yankees'Derek Jeter,Tino Martinez,Paul O’Neill, andBernie Williams, who had started 68 postseason contests together.[46]
An announcement became public on November 3, 2021, that the Astros had selected Gurriel's option for2022.[47] The club placed him on thepaternity list on April 8, 2022 and called up third basemanJoe Perez to take his place on the roster.[48] Gurriel drove in two runs with two hits on April 22 versus theBlue Jays; one hit was a single that started a rally in the ninth versus closerJordan Romano which fell short as the Astros lost, 4–3.[49] On May 17, Gurriel hit the final of five Astros home runs in the second inning versus starterNathan Eovaldi of theBoston Red Sox, tying the major league record for home runs hit by a team in one inning as the Astros rolled to a 13–4 victory.[50]
Gurriel collected two hits on May 25 versus theCleveland Guardians to help key an Astros 2–1 win.[51] Three hits and two runs scored helped lad a 13–3 win over theChicago White Sox on June 17.[52] On August 11 versus theTexas Rangers, Gurriel broke an 0-for-12 slump with three hits to tie his season high.[53] He connected for his 200th career double in extra innings versus theAtlanta Braves on August 20.[54]
In 2022, Gurriel batted .242/.288/.360 in 584 plate appearances with 8 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a career-high 8 stolen bases.[2] He led the Astros with 40 doubles,[55] ranking sixth in the AL, and was fifth in the league in at-bat-to-strikeout ratio (7.9).[56]
In theALDS, Gurriel played a critical role in a sweep of theMariners, batting .400/.400/1.000 with one home run, one stolen base, and no strikeouts over 15 plate appearances.[57] It was his third postseason series with an OPS of at least 1.000, and first since the 2021 ALCS.[2] During Game 5 of theWorld Series, he exited with a knee injury and was removed from the roster. A resurgent Gurriel batted .347/.360/.490 during the club'spostseason.[58] The following day, the Astros defeated thePhiladelphia Phillies to give Gurriel his second World Series title.[59] Following the seaspm, Gurriel became a free agent.[60]
TheHouston Chronicle ranked Gurriel as the fourth-best first baseman in Astros history through the 2022 season among those who played there more for the club than any other position, following Bagwell,Bob Watson, andGlenn Davis, and ahead ofLee May. Gurriel was an integral piece on squads that reached the ALCS in six consecutive seasons and won two World Series titles. He batted .284 with 94 home runs, 435 RBI and .776 OPS in his first seven seasons in Houston, and hit another 8 home runs in 85 postseason games.[61]
On March 10, 2023, Gurriel signed a one-year minor league contract with theMiami Marlins.[62] On March 26, the Marlins announced that Gurriel had made theOpening Day roster and would have his contract selected to the 40-man roster.[63] On April 25, Gurriel recorded aninside-the-park home run offAtlanta Braves relieverJesse Chavez after the ball got away from outfielderKevin Pillar.[64]
The Astros presented Gurriel his 2022World Series ring during a pregame ceremony atLoanDepot Park on August 16, with former teammatesYordan Alvarez,Jose Altuve,Alex Bregman,Martín Maldonado,Justin Verlander, and managerDusty Baker.[65] In 108 games for Miami, Gurriel batted .245/.304/.359 with four home runs and 27 RBI.[2] He became a free agent following the season.
On April 13, 2024, Gurriel signed a minor league contract with theAtlanta Braves.[66] In 75 games for the Triple-AGwinnett Stripers, he slashed .292/.378/.485 with 12 home runs, 48 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.
On August 31, 2024, Gurriel was traded to theKansas City Royals for cash considerations.[67][68] The next day, Kansas City selected Gurriel's contract, adding him to their active roster.[69] He made his season debut against the Astros on September 1, hitting an RBI single againstTayler Scott.[70] In 18 games for Kansas City, Gurriel hit .241/.338/.296 with no home runs, six RBI, and one stolen base. He batted 4-for-21 in the playoffs.[2]
On February 17, 2025, Gurriel signed a minor league contract with theSan Diego Padres.[71] On March 27, the Padres selected Gurriel's contract after he made the team'sOpening Day roster.[72] In 16 appearances for San Diego, he batted .111/.200/.139 with no home runs and three RBI. Gurriel wasdesignated for assignment by the Padres on April 29.[73] He cleared waivers and elected free agency on May 3.[74] He was the fifth oldest player in MLB in 2025.[75]
Gurriel represented theCuba national team before his defection. He helped the national team win agold medal in the2004 Summer Olympics, as well as at theWorld Cup of Baseball championships in2003 and2005. During the 2005 World Cup, he led all batters with eight home runs.
Gurriel played second base for the Cuban national team at the2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC),[76] striking out for the final out for Cuba in their championship game loss toJapan. Hebatted .273 in the tournament, with a .342on-base percentage and a .515slugging percentage. Later in the finals of the2008 Beijing Olympics tournament, he again made the final out, by grounding into a double play againstSouth Korea.[77]
Gurriel played for Cuba again in the2009 WBC, as their third baseman. He batted .333 in the tournament with two home runs and six RBIs.
In December 2023, Gurriel was announced as part ofFEPCUBE's "Patria y Vida" team ofexpatriate Cuban ballplayers participating in the inauguralIntercontinental Series inBarranquilla,Colombia.[78] It would have been the first time Gurriel represented Cuba, albeit unofficially, in an international tournament since the2011 Pan American Games. However, the tournament was cancelled due to diplomatic pressure from the Cuban government.
In MLB, Gurriel has had a limitedplatoon advantage, with a slightly better batting average against right handed pitchers than left-handers but more patient and power against lefties.[79] He is better at batting against breaking balls away from the bat, especiallysliders.[citation needed]
Gurriel is the older brother ofLourdes Gurriel Jr. who plays for theArizona Diamondbacks and is the son ofLourdes Gurriel. His family currently resides inMiami, Florida.[80]
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| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month July 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cuban National Series MVP 2004–05 | Succeeded by |
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