Yuliesky G(o)uriel 3B/Cuba

[molitor fan]

This guy is a supposed similar to Cabrera - just defected with his brother today....would expect a 5/70 or more type deal....

 

not an in the box thought, but has a plus plus bat

[CheezWizHed]

He will be 32 in June. I doubt he makes sense for us since we will need to replace him by the time we start competing.

[3and2Fastball]

It'll be interesting to see where he ends up. His talent is, by all accounts, legit, but he's on the wrong side of 30

 

His 22 year old younger brother would make sense for the Brewers

[And That]

His older brother's name is Yuniesky. For that reason alone, pass.

[Yolk]

I'd been wanting this guy to defect since watching him in the World Baseball Classic when he was a young, multi-position infielder with a big bat. That was like 10 years ago. Hopefully he has a few more good years in him.

[beekay414]

We should make a play for Lourdes.

[molitor fan]

Yulieski Gurriel, a third baseman, was dominating the Cuban league this season with a .500 batting average, .599 on-base percentage and .874 slugging percentage.

 

 

Is that good?

[reillymcshane]

Yulieski Gurriel, a third baseman, was dominating the Cuban league this season with a .500 batting average, .599 on-base percentage and .874 slugging percentage.

 

 

Is that good?

Don't forget the 1 strikeout he had. Sure it was only 86 ABs, but that's pretty impressive.

 

He had an .884 OPS in 2014 while playing in Japan.

[Samurai Bucky]

Maybe Stearns should take a page out of the Marquette handbook. Henry Ellenson would most likely not be attending Marquette if his brother, Wally, was still playing in Minnesota. Would it make sense to get the package deal?

[Eye Black]

Maybe Stearns should take a page out of the Marquette handbook. Henry Ellenson would most likely not be attending Marquette if his brother, Wally, was still playing in Minnesota. Would it make sense to get the package deal?

It appears a package deal is one creative way a team could circumvent the international signing rules and avoid paying a large tax penalty for Lourdes (for further explanation see Fangraphs Article). Still seems more likely though that Lourdes will wait until late October to sign when teams won't be subject to any international signing restrictions.

[JohnBriggs12]

He will be 32 in June. I doubt he makes sense for us since we will need to replace him by the time we start competing.

 

When is that time exactly anyway? If he's Jose Abreu part 2, seems to me they can be competitive a lot sooner than you think without sacrificing a single prospect. A left side of the infield of Arcia and this guy would be a very, very good one. Of course that's assuming they don't deal off the remaining quality vets.

[MrTPlush]

He will be 32 in June. I doubt he makes sense for us since we will need to replace him by the time we start competing.

 

If you believe in his skills the price will probably be cheap enough you could flip him in the future. I however don't think he will hit enough and his age is much too high for me to take a flyer on an international guy. Maybe the scouts love him or something in Milwaukee though.

 

Basically just because he may not compete with him doesn't mean we should just write him off the list.

[TURBO]

32 in June? Is that in Cuban years? There is probably the chance he is 34 in June.

[pacopete4]

32 in June? Is that in Cuban years? There is probably the chance he is 34 in June.

 

I was thinking even higher. I wouldn't trust those documents that claim he is 32 one bit.

[adambr2]

Yeah, unless we have a master plan to bank on him being a star and deal him for a haul after a year, it doesn't make much sense to invest a pricey long term deal to a guy on the wrong side of 30. Would have made a lot more sense a year or two ago.

[3and2Fastball]

Not only is he reportedly 32 years old, but theres lots of games in his rearview mirror, too. There has been at least one season where he played a full season of Cuban winter Baseball and a full season of Japanese Baseball. Fulltime Cuban leagues plus Caribbean Series tournaments plus World Baseball Classics etc, and most of those playing middle infield.

[MrTPlush]

Yeah, unless we have a master plan to bank on him being a star and deal him for a haul after a year, it doesn't make much sense to invest a pricey long term deal to a guy on the wrong side of 30. Would have made a lot more sense a year or two ago.

 

Well in all honestly all he would have to be is a Norichika Aoki type player at third base. I am not saying stat wise, but the value they have at their positions. If he becomes a solid maybe slightly above average third baseman he could be flipped for a solid player. He doesn't figure to get much in terms of years or cash so the risk would be low.

 

I am not advocating such a move, but it wouldn't be outlandish to sign him and have a chance to flip him for something similar to what we got for Aoki or for more lower level flyers.

[trwi7]

Yeah, unless we have a master plan to bank on him being a star and deal him for a haul after a year, it doesn't make much sense to invest a pricey long term deal to a guy on the wrong side of 30. Would have made a lot more sense a year or two ago.

 

Well in all honestly all he would have to be is a Norichika Aoki type player at third base. I am not saying stat wise, but the value they have at their positions. If he becomes a solid maybe slightly above average third baseman he could be flipped for a solid player. He doesn't figure to get much in terms of years or cash so the risk would be low.

 

I am not advocating such a move, but it wouldn't be outlandish to sign him and have a chance to flip him for something similar to what we got for Aoki or for more lower level flyers.

 

But in that case, why wouldn't a team that wants him just offer more than us in years or dollars and not have to give up anything other than that to get him?

[MrTPlush]

Yeah, unless we have a master plan to bank on him being a star and deal him for a haul after a year, it doesn't make much sense to invest a pricey long term deal to a guy on the wrong side of 30. Would have made a lot more sense a year or two ago.

 

Well in all honestly all he would have to be is a Norichika Aoki type player at third base. I am not saying stat wise, but the value they have at their positions. If he becomes a solid maybe slightly above average third baseman he could be flipped for a solid player. He doesn't figure to get much in terms of years or cash so the risk would be low.

 

I am not advocating such a move, but it wouldn't be outlandish to sign him and have a chance to flip him for something similar to what we got for Aoki or for more lower level flyers.

 

But in that case, why wouldn't a team that wants him just offer more than us in years or dollars and not have to give up anything other than that to get him?

 

Because he is a total wildcard right now. He could be below replacement level or he could be above average. No team wants to waste money and roster space if he turns out to be the former possibility. Even more so if you are looking to be a contender.

 

Now if he turns out to be above average a lot of teams would then have interest since they know he can put up the stats and is worth the money/roster spot.

[TURBO]

Yeah, unless we have a master plan to bank on him being a star and deal him for a haul after a year, it doesn't make much sense to invest a pricey long term deal to a guy on the wrong side of 30. Would have made a lot more sense a year or two ago.

 

Well in all honestly all he would have to be is a Norichika Aoki type player at third base. I am not saying stat wise, but the value they have at their positions. If he becomes a solid maybe slightly above average third baseman he could be flipped for a solid player. He doesn't figure to get much in terms of years or cash so the risk would be low.

 

I am not advocating such a move, but it wouldn't be outlandish to sign him and have a chance to flip him for something similar to what we got for Aoki or for more lower level flyers.

 

But in that case, why wouldn't a team that wants him just offer more than us in years or dollars and not have to give up anything other than that to get him?

 

We have a rampant "flip him" philosophy on these boards. have you ever actually taken notice how many posters mention signing a player, trading for a player, etc so we can "flip him" later? It is a constant barrage of people thinking we should just do that on everyone available to us. Seriously, just start paying attention to how many posters use that line of thinking. If it were that easy flipping players, don't you think every team would just grab the players themselves before having to trade for the guy they want? Sheeesh.

[trwi7]

Because he is a total wildcard right now. He could be below replacement level or he could be above average. No team wants to waste money and roster space if he turns out to be the former possibility. Even more so if you are looking to be a contender.

 

So then why would we want to sign him? Yeah, it's probably not going to hurt that bad if he sucks because our payroll is low but if he does suck it's just wasted money that could be spent on a salary dump like Hill and Arroyo were or signing an international prospect. Or going over our draft pool to sign a prospect we nabbed later due to signability.

 

If he's an Aoki type, what do we get back? A Smith type like we got for Aoki who we could then maybe flip later? A prospect like Diaz? A prospect like Toussaint?

 

Just seems like we could be spending time and money on better things than signing a 32 year old and hoping he can hit major league pitching so we can flip him x amount of years down the line.

[MrTPlush]

Hey now all I am saying why it could make sense to one. I made it very clear the Brewers would only do it if they REALLY liked him. I also made it VERY clear I would be no fan of such a move and wouldn't do it myself.

[CheezWizHed]

He will be 32 in June. I doubt he makes sense for us since we will need to replace him by the time we start competing.

 

When is that time exactly anyway? If he's Jose Abreu part 2, seems to me they can be competitive a lot sooner than you think without sacrificing a single prospect. A left side of the infield of Arcia and this guy would be a very, very good one. Of course that's assuming they don't deal off the remaining quality vets.

 

For one, I didn't say we shouldn't sign him, but I doubt we sign him. I'm not sure the timeframe for the rebuild, but given that we traded away a 32 year old 1B (a position of need and not blocking any prospects), I'd say that it's unlikely to sign a 31 (soon 32) yo 3B. It just doesn't fit the MO of what we are doing right now (still being in "tear-down" mode).

 

Similar to others, I thought about the "sign him and flip him" possibility, but I just can't imagine that we would out spend a team that really could use him right now, which is when his biggest value will be. And add in the risk of signing him to an anchor deal if he doesn't work out.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Being that he's a free agent, and it takes two to tango, why would he even consider Milwaukee if the rest of his prime coincides with the rebuild window? Depends on his motivation I guess, but if he's looking for a championship in the the next 3 years, I don't think we're near the top of his list.