3:26pm: Gurriel negotiated an additional $300K on top of the $8MM that was originally guaranteed, per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter).
The new contract is structured as a straight one-year pact, although that doesn’t come with a lesser tax hit as one might think; a person familiar with the contract tells MLBTR that for luxury tax purposes, the termination of the original contract comes with a fee that amounts to an “upcharge” — the size of which covers the gap between his new $8.3MM salary and his previous $9.5MM luxury hit.
The new arrangement provides Gurriel with a slight boost in salary while avoiding any possibility of a contentious hearing that might’ve stemmed from opting into arbitration. The clause stipulating that Gurriel become a free agent at the end of the contract and his previous awards bonus package all carry over to the new deal. He’ll be a free agent next winter.
2:41pm: Yuli Gurriel’s five-year, $47.5MM contract with the Astros affords him the opportunity to opt into MLB’s arbitration system once eligible. But he’ll forgo that right and play out the 2020 season on the original $8MM salary dictated by the contract, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
Although Gurriel will have only four-plus years of service time when his contract expires at the conclusion of the 2020 season — as opposed to the six years typically required to become a free agent — he’ll nevertheless head to the open market next winter. Gurriel’s contract stipulates that he be released by the Astros upon completion of the deal at the end of the 2020 season, thus allowing him an opportunity to once again test free agency.
One of the premier players in Cuba throughout the 2000s, Gurriel left his home country in early 2016 alongside his younger brother, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Both have since realized their dream of playing in the Majors. The elder Gurriel has remained a productive hitter into his mid-30s and, in 2019, turned in the best season of his career at the plate. In 612 plate appearances as Houston’s primary first baseman, he slashed .298/.343/.541 with 31 home runs, 40 doubles and a pair of triples.
Any Astros fans out there – how do you envision Kyle Tucker getting on the field next year? Alvarez is clearly DH, and everyone at OF and 1B seems locked in – Springer, Reddick, Brantley and Gurriel are all on their final year of their respective contracts, but it’s hard to justify sitting any of them with the years they all just had. Is it possible he starts in AAA again? Doesn’t feel like there’s much he has left to prove there….thanks in advance for thoughts!
Reddick kinda had a down year
I wouldn’t be surprised if they try and dump Reddick off on somebody.
I can see one of two things happening, and this is just purely a guess on my part: I can see them trading Josh Reddick this off season and opening up a spot for Tucker. They will have to pay a good chunk of his salary to get this done because his value has slowly decreased with the Astros. Or they can release Marisnick, move Reddick to the role Marisnick has now which is defensive specialist late in games and spot start to rest guys and give Tucker the starting OF spot this way. Marisnick was one of the last guys to get a roster spot last spring so him being let go is a good possibility.
I would be surprised if Reddick plays another game for Houston.
If he was there 4th outfielder, and started whenever Springer, Reddick, Brantley needs a day off, he’ll get 50 starts minimum. Plus a day off to Alvarez and Gurriel probably another 20 starts. And that number will jump barring any injuries to those 5 players. It’s not bad, although it’s not enough for a former top prospect. He needs to be starting everyday, and this is also not taking into consideration Jake Marisnicks share of playing time. Although things don’t look promising for everyday playing time, I think things will work itself out and he’ll get 450 at bats.
Rosters expand to 26 next year. Tucker gets that 26th spot. If Reddick or Marisnick leave Straw gets that spot.
Unconventional contract for this guy, huh? I guess that’s not uncommon for Cuban players. I know Aroldis Chapman got something like $38 million before he ever played in an American baseball game. I still would have loved to see him as a starter. He carried Cuba to the World Baseball Classic championship as a starter and that’s why the Reds gave him that much (in top of his tremendous unheard of velocity). He may have been the next Roger Clemens or Randy Johnson. He didn’t seem to want that role. He loves airing it out every time as a closer. I miss the days where pitchers would be clocked at 103 mph with 2 outs in the ninth after recording 18 strikeouts. He would have made more money and it would give him a better chance at the HOF. To each their own though. Maybe he knew his body well enough and figured his velo and arm health wouldn’t hold up to that kinda regiment. He’s still a very highly compensated star pitcher so it’s hard to argue with his decisions.
103 mph. Bottom of the 9th. 18 K’s? When and who was that?
I know Randy Johnson did it. Justin Verlander and Ben Sheets got something similar but their final pitches only hit 101. Clemens and Kerry Wood probably had similar velo to Sheets and Verlander buy actually hit 20 k’s. I think Roger Clemens did it twice with 20 k’s actually. The 103 might have been the high point and only hit by Randy Johnson but the other guys got at least somewhere around 101 to finish the game and Clemens and Wood actually got 20 k’s. I would say 2 more strikeouts make up for the 2 fewer mph but you get the point. It was kind if a generalization. That exact instance has happened before though and so has at least a few instances which are arguably better. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nolan Ryan did something like that as well.
Bob Gibson and Koufax are other possibilities but I’m not sure that the technology was good enough back then to track speed of pitch reliably. I know some Boston and Montreal fans that would swear by the fact that Pedro was capable of that but I haven’t read anything about it.
Chap was the first player to ever be recorded throwing 103. Joel Zumaya was the previous recorded hardest thrower and he was 102.
That’s not accurate Gare. Research it. I know for a a fact Randy Johnson was recorded at 103 when he closed game 7 of the WS against the Yankees back when he was with Arizona. Nolan Ryan is listed as pitching at 104+ before that. Chap was however the only pitcher to be clocked at 106. And he did it twice in 1 game. A s far as I have heard Chap is the only pitcher to ever throw 105+. I think Nolan Ryan is the only one at 104 and several are at 103. When Tony Gwinn coached Steven Strasburg at San Diego State, Gwinn claimed Stras threw 103 frequently.
Jordan Hicks, 105
Nolan Ryan at age 44 threw 122 pitch no hitter . 16 k and last pitch was 96 mph. Pretty impressive .
“The Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman, may have thrown a 105.1 mph fastball in 2010 to set a Major League record, but (SPOILER ALERT) when you correct for radar gun placement, Nolan Ryan’s legendary 1974 heater clocked at 100.9 was really the top speed ever, at a blazing 108.5 miles per hour”
si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/22/fastball-pitching-…
Great documentary by the wy
Didn’t know about him. Was it actually during the course of an MLB game? They don’t usually count it if that’s not the case. IMO it shouldn’t count unless it is either in the strike zone or swung at by a batter. I know one of Chap’s 106 pitches was thrown way low and outside and then called a ball because even at that speed the batter could tell it was garbage. To me that shouldn’t count but to even be considered it has to be in an actual MLB game. Even Nolan Ryan’s 104 was controversial. They didn’t have a pitch speedometer that was capable of laser tagging the ball twice after one pitch back then. What they did is tag it once right before it hit the bat. I think the speed of the pitch at that point was a hair under 99 but it was that fast AFTER it had already traveled 60+ feet. They clocked it at the pitches slowest point and pitch speed is supposed to be an average velocity of from when it leaves the pitchers hand to when it crosses the plate. They used some formula back then to determine what the exit velocity out if the pitchers hand must have been to make the ball travel at around 99 mph 60+ feet later and they “determined” that Nolan Ryan’s average velo on that pitch should have been at least 104 mph. It’s not as trustworthy as the current 2 laser system today though. I’m not even sure if that Nolan Ryan test was done during an actual major league game though. It could have been an exhibition experiment. I do know Chapman was clocked during a major league game with the 2 laser system at 106 but I’m not sure that either of those pitches didn’t just get called as balls out of the strike zone. If I remember. Correctly they were both out of the strike zone but a batter actually swung at one of them making it a strike. I find this stuff very interesting. I always wonder what the fastest pitch that can be consistently thrown for a strike will be and which pitcher does it. I think Bob Feller competed at fastest pitch too.
Have you watched “Fastball” on Netflix?
I am sure that the documentary is very interesting and I would love it. I can’t help but think that it has some sensationalist nonsense tied into it specifically about speed of pitch numbers. The reason I say that is because (before Chapman threw his 105.1 mph pitch or either of his two 106 mph pitches that came after the article was created) I read an article about how that pitch by Ryan in ’74 was clocked around 100 and was likely much faster due to the lack of technology available back then. The article I read put him at 104.8 mph. Now that Chapman has broken the record 3 times over they say the ’74 pitch is 3.6 mph faster than they thought before Champman came around? I feel like everyone knows it can’t be verified so companies like Sports Illustrated, ESPN and any “scientists, specialists or analysts” they hire in production know they will make money off this. The more sensational the more it will sell. Kind of like click bait on the internet. Why weren’t they saying that back before Chapman pitched? The fact still remains that Chapman has been clocked as a 106 mph pitcher during a ML game multiple times. Ryan has never even been clocked at 101 mph. Ryan had worse technology to work with and likely threw harder than the 101. You still have to go with the source that has the most and best proven information. Something tells me that if some kid starts pitching at 109 mph, once again more articles will come out about Nolan Ryan’s 1974 pitch and this time they will estimate he threw it at 110mph. If the numbers change based on what pitchers are doing now then you can’t trust the numbers.
Nolan Ryan was a freak of nature! He pretty much gave max effort on every fastball his whole career.
Big deal, I’ve thrown well over 10.5 several times
Yeah. People really don’t understand how difficult it is to pitch that hard. If a very athletics 6’1 man tries to throw a pitch as hard as he can without even attempting to make it a strike he would be very lucky to have it register at 83 mph. What Nolan Ryan did was absolutely insane. He is one of my favorite players of all time. How do you throw a no hitter at 44 years old? Chapman may be the fastest pitcher in proven history but I doubt he will be able to pitch in the Majors when he is 44. Much less throw a no hitter. Heck… I don’t think he is even capable of pitching a complete game right now.
Reddick could be traded
Um is it possible that one of their outfielders may slump now they wont know what pitches are coming since they wont be able to cheat anymore. That should get Tucker in the line up
nice to see an actual comment about what really matters instead of a whole lot of “back in my day” comments about everyone in the world being a cheater. ill say one thing about younger sports fans – they’re a lot more open-minded when it needs to be with rules.
All you can go with the evidence. Back in my day doesn’t matter. But the evidence tells us what is known.
Kyle Tucker obviously should get playing time before Josh Reddick.
Maybe some team can be convinced to take Reddick at his entire salary if the Astros throw in a reclamation project like Francis Martes.
Even if his numbers regress to career average, you could do worse at 8.3M
Surprising. He could probably make more money.
Probably the most underrated 1st baseman in baseball and he can play other infield positions which helps when Correa has his annual 60-day IL trip
Except for the cheating, you may be right. We’ll never know, though we might get some idea in the year(s) ahead.
agreed. the way modern 1B are, he might even be the best. a rare good defender at 1B with versatility, and clear hitting ability.
He won’t hit above 275 next year. Knowing what pitch is coming made this guy look a lot better than he actually is. Safe to say that about most of the astros. I bet they don’t even make playoffs next year
Altuve, Brantley, Springer, Reddick, Chirinos…all have been in the league for a good while now. I’m not an Astros fan but to think this made much of a difference is pretty laughable, especially considering they only play half of their games at home.
Then you don’t know what it means to know what pitch is coming. Half of the games is HUGE. What a dope. As with PEDs, why would they risk the consequences if it didn’t make a huge difference? They wouldn’t. It meant millions of dollars they have already pocketed. Those guys you mention weren’t nearly as good pre-17 as they have been since. No way Altuve is an MVP without it. He just scraped by Judge. Judge would have won by a mile. Altuve deserves to have his fraudulent “MVP” stripped from him, for starters.
People new what Rivera was throwing and couldn’t hit him. People know what knuckleballers are throwing and struggle with them. Knowing what pitch is coming doesn’t mean you know the exact speed, location, break…it’s not as simple as hey, they’re throwing this, watch me hit it.
Houston was 3rd in OPS on the road in 2019, the other half of the games. They were behind NYY and Minn. Tied for 4th in AVG and 1st in OBP.
We will see what difference it makes next year.
If stealing signs with technology is cheating, then why isn’t “framing” a pitch also cheating?
yeah let’s bring up Mo Rivera as an example of knowing what is coming.
Lol what?
I mean, I get what you are saying DTD_ATL, but knowing what pitch is coming first rather than have to guess/try to pick it up first makes hitting incredibly easier for a batter. They have consistently been at the top of the league in walking and strikeouts: it’s a heck of a lot easier to take a change up down if you know it’s a change up. Shrinking the strike zone alone gives them a massive advantage over the teams that aren’t doing that.
Should be a moot point. A good umpire calls the pitch as they see it cross the plate. If an ump can’t see the catcher move their mitt he’s blind or if he calls a ball that’s framed strike a strike knowing the catcher framed it, he shouldn’t be an ump anyways.
Sorry MLB won’t do that. Just like Matt Kemp got robbed of his MVP by Braun when Braun was on the juice. Judge certainly deserves it now over Altuve.
If they didn’t think it was making a big difference they wouldn’t take the chance. I’m not saying these guy’s aren’t good/great hitter’s but it certainly made a big difference.
Yea you’re a clown dude. Altuve literally launched the astros to the World Series because he knew a slider was coming. Im a yankees fan and we missed two World Series and a mvp (judge) because of them. And for years I was suspicious and always wondered how they were so good and so locked in. Now we know
All of the main suspects have all been astros brought up through system. (Altuve, springer, Correa, Bregman)
Brantley has always been a pure hitter so no hate towards him
Reddick has actually gotten worse and I think the sign stealing has hurt his game
Chirinos? Who even cares about that scrub. He’s a back up catcher who all of a sudden hits bombs on fastballs he sat on cuz he knew what was coming
Knowing what pitch is coming (remember it’s a guarantee because they had a fool proof system) not only helped them win close games in clutch moments to vault their records, their numbers went up across the board. Not only power and average, but obp as well. If you know a slider is coming and it’s on the outside corner, you know it’s gonna be a ball every time.
Was yankees vs astros that uneven? No. But at then end of the day yankees look like fools swinging at balls out of strike zone while astros aren’t chasing anything bad.
its not Houston’s fault the Yankees hitters couldn’t crack their superior rotation.
DarkSide
It’s not the Yankee’s fault the Astros/Altuve cheated.
my point has nothing to do with that. if the Yankees were hitting pitches at a below average level, then that specifically is on them. by that logic, you’re admitting the Yankees probably shouldn’t have won anyway because they couldn’t hit worth a damn.
How well does cole and Verlander do if yankees knew what was coming?
If Altuve hadn’t hit a pitch NO BATTER would be looking for–a high outside slider–who knows what would’ve happened, especially since the Stros stole signs to score their first four fraudulent runs.
how many Yankees where on steroids during the late ’90s run? when you are done counting please let me know and then stfu
Knowing a slower off speed pitch is coming instead of gearing up for a heater or vise versa is huge. Think about a guy getting fooled on a breaking ball in a fastball count/situation looking like he’s going to fall on his face swinging too early. Now if that same guy, who was thinking heater, all of the sudden gets a signal that a slower pitch is coming has a huge advantage. If a pitcher is tipping his off speed stuff and the hitter picks up on it he has a major advantage. Same thing only different in the fact that nobody cheated when they figured out the pitcher was tipping. So it is a big deal and it did likely help the Astros.
Ted Williams hit .406 without stealing signs.
This comment hilariously, made my day! LMAO
You’re obviously easily amused. It will be interesting to see the “off years’ players will suddenly have without the advantage of knowing what pitch is coming. You clearly have no idea how much that advantage means. You think they did it for a lark? You that gullible? Or just blindly biased?
Maybe I’m not caught up but weren’t they caught cheating on 2017 games? The league just implemented the delayed broadcast this past season so I don’t see how they’d be able to pull this off this year.
I don’t think it would be very hard to find a way around that system. The home team is in charge of the camera systems, so it would not be that far-fetched to suggest that they found a way to send a secondary, live broadcast themselves. Or they could have improved upon the 2017 method and it’s something completely different now, who knows. Logically speaking, if it worked so well in 2017 and there were zero repercussions, the Astros found a way to continue doing it.
I guess he had a lifelong dream of playing the drums.
the a’s fans! are they doing the work for the team?
Have you been to those games? Those fans are so faded by the start of the game no way they’re conveying signs.
why would he opt out if he has his SIGN STEALING STARE DOWN !
Guy deserves a 80 day suspension for cheating, just as for PEDs. And he should return his WS share. Last, along with the rest of the Stros and all roid/PED users, all the Astros should be banned from consideration for the HOF.
So he should be suspended because those in charge of the team decided to steal signs? Is he supposed to put in ear plugs and throw on a blindfold? Dumb.
He participated in stealing signs. He defrauded every team he played. Money was involved. He should be charged for felony.
Mo – What is the specific felony that would be charged?
there are so many ped users in hof and blocking the rest are really bad biz.
I never really understood that argument. So if not all plagiarist are caught who win awards, You should not prevent people who committed plagiarism from winning awards?
You can’t catch everyone, so why even have the bar? Again, it doesn’t make sense.
Who? Which confirmed PED users are in the HOF?
I wonder if opting into arbitration meant he wouldn’t be released at the end of next season, and remained under club control.
Otherwise, seems peculiar he wouldn’t choose to beat his salary by going to arbitration.
Exactly what it meant
A member of the Cheat Squad. He should grab whatever money he can before he proves he’s an actual failure.
Who knows how talented that team really is? And who should care?
I cant wait for when the last member of this Astros team is alive and people continue to pile on said player for possibly being involved in this thing. seems like everything short of death threats out here. you people need to get lives beyond the keyboard and live in the real world for a bit.
The cheating is over. I want them to come clean. If they “cover it up” then it’s an ongoing crime.
Coming from the guy making multiple comments in the thread
They committed a crime. They defrauded every pitcher/team they faced at home. Money was at stake. Frankly, they should be tried as felons.
No one made anything close to a death threat so why make a comment like that???
1 tap on the can for opting in, 2 for opting out.
Looks like 1 tap it is
lol!!! well played
Hahahahaha
Is he QO eligible?
Gurriel’s lawyer to Yuli:
“I have a lot on my plate right now.”
“We’ll give you an extra 300 grand if you keep your mouth shut”
nice
So, now I’m seeing suggestions by Mo4ever, et al, that people should be charged with a felony. Someone please state the specific statute from the Texas Penal Code that you think someone committed and should be charged with.
Man, this ain’t about Texas lawmen. The feds can and will drop in when it comes to National Fraud.
Good. So the same question: What is the federal statute from the United States Code, Title 18, that can be charged?
What is National Fraud?
Well, I’m no lawyer, but fraudulent behavior which crosses a multi-state area, especially in national/international media eye is probably federal jurisdiction.
Let’s imagine one team wants to sue another team?
So you don’t know then Rally. See my comment below in response to Jeff.
You’re right, which is why I propose thoughts in attempt to get answers. It’s called learning. I have zero problem admitting when I’m wrong. I just like to know when a thought or intuition is accurate or not. There’s nothing wrong with talking about things even if one is not an expert.
I’m looking into the title 18 right now. But I would like to add, wisdom suggests those “benders” of the rule are fully aware of what the rule is. Hence, the the ability to bend.
I agree, but from what I’ve read, nothing rises to the level of a crime in my opinion. I appreciate your willingness to explore ideas, but let baseball handle their issue. That’s where it belongs.
Sorry, but there would be no baseball if it were not for fans and integrity.
Don’t try to censor my freedom of expression, Mr. Know the Law guy.
Rally – I should have replied here rather than below. Check out Title 18, Section 1343. That’s all I could find that even remotely resembles the allegations. I don’t think it gets there though.
I’m against censorship. I support healthy debate, which is actually what this is. “Mr. Know The Law Guy” is a good screen name.
Not that I have reason to believe it’ll happen, but … there’d potentially be multiple jurisdictions, including federal, and it probably wouldn’t take much in the way of creative lawyering to dream up a legal theory or six. It’s even easier to imagine (in other contexts, anyway) a variety of potential civil claims.
Not gonna happen Jeff. It won’t meet the elements of any statute, which have to be proven, and a loss amount is not quantifiable. Plus no one in sports is charged criminally for this type of behavior.
I watched a football player the other night remove the helmet from the head of the opposing quarterback and hit him over the head with it. He should be arrested for assault but that won’t happen either. He’ll be punished severely by the NFL, but that’s it.
The Astros cheated so well they lost every ws game at home…instead of all the hate maybe we should be laughing at that point
This has gotten so out of hand it’s funny. The benefit is impossible to quantify.
I’m mostly just laughing cause everyone is sounding like a broken record over it haha
The fact that you posted shows you care, but choosing against those who cry for justice is your stand.
Rally – check out Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. It’s the closest I could find that even hints of potential. But I don’t think the allegations meet the elements.
Okay, from what I see here, Fraud is particularly pointed at misrepresentation, collecting moneys or promise under false or conspiratory pretenses.
Are you saying that because “Baseball specific rules or ethics” being violated is not misrepresentation recognized by the law of states or nation, the power to elect its course of action or any penalties be determined solely by that said organization without oversight?
In this matter, I think MLB is the oversight. If the actions don’t fit the elements of a specific statute, then nothing can be charged as a crime. I think MLB will do the right thing when they finish their investigation if the allegation is proven.
This directly effects fans and the league first and foremost. Then, in some combination, sponsorship and broadcast networks. But let’s consider the rights of MLB pitchers. Say pitchers rank and file, “enough is enough” and boycott if luke-warm punishments are handed out. Now what?
Yeah, right. And risk those salaries? Yer dreaming.
Probably a preclusion against doing that in their contract, anyway.
@sonorawind You’re probably right about salary pressure. But contracts, who is in breach if the pitchers are not satisfied the league is keeping up their end?
You’re talking about suing for lack of adequate enforcement of the rules. It would be like suing over the ever-changing strike zone, by different umps.
I really doubt a player can sue over how MLB enforces its own rules.
Mmm. Not exactly, but I see what you’re trying to say.
For your example to fit, the league would have to be sanctioning Umpires not getting calls right and fixing games while demonstrating an unwillingness to consider pitchers’ interests for the comparison to work.
I AM NOT saying that is happening, but without it you can’t really compare the two. Good try though.
looking at it now.
I think Gurriel is one of the most underrated hitters in baseball. He is really a tough out.
His series against the Yankees was a succession of hard hit balls, in the early games, that got caught, while the rest of the team largely struggled. He is tough as nails in playoff games, and is solid during the regular season. Also solid in the field, at first; just not spectacular..
8.3 mil is a steal. Can’t believe he is 35. Most players are a couple years into serious regression at that age..