Yuli Gurriel is a six-foot, 215 lb. right-handed first baseman from Sancti Spiritis, Cuba. Born on June 9, 1984, Gurriel’s path to the majors was a little different than most. He’s been playing in the Cuban League and international competition since 2001, when at the age of 17 he hit .300 with a .782 OPS over 376 plate appearances. He played with the Cuban team until 2016.
It was February in 2016 when Gurriel, along with his brother, Lourdes Jr., defected while playing the Dominican Republic. Gurriel met then-future Astro Yordan Alvarez in June. On July 18, Gurriel, then 32, signed with the Astros for five years and $47.