The San Diego Padres have made a signing that few saw coming.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Monday that the Padres have agreed to a deal with free agent first baseman Yuli Gurriel. Heyman adds that it is a minor-league deal for Gurriel with an invite to major league Spring Training. Gurriel will make $1.25 million if in the majors and can also made an additional $1 million in incentives.
Now 40 years old, Gurriel was a two-time World Series champion with the Houston Astros, whom he played for from 2016-22. He was also a Gold Glove Award winner in 2021 and took home the AL batting title that year as well with a .319 average.
Gurriel spent 2023 with the Miami Marlins and 2024 with the Kansas City Royals. Last season for Kansas City, Gurriel played in just 18 games, hitting .241 with zero home runs, 6 RBIs, and 15 strikeouts.
What makes the Padres’ move to sign Gurriel so surprising is his well-documented history with San Diego pitcher Yu Darvish. Back in the 2017 World Series, Gurriel (then with the Astros) infamously made a racist gesture in reference to Darvish (who was then with the Los Angeles Dodgers) while in the dugout. While Gurriel did make public amends not long after (and also served a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball for his actions), few could have ever imagined that Gurriel and Darvish would one day end up as teammates.
There is not a whole lot of upside left with Gurriel at this point in his professional career. But the Padres could use another righty bat behind lefty-hitting first baseman Luis Arraez (an ex-Gurriel teammate on the Marlins), so they are willing to let bygones be bygones here and take the chance.
