The Royals have acquired first baseman Yuli Gurriel from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations. The 40-year-old Gurriel is an eight-year MLB veteran, who was the primary first baseman for the Houston Astros from 2016-2022.
In his prime, Gurriel was an above league-average bat, smashing 31 home runs in 2019 and winning a batting title in 2021. He was frequently among the hardest hitters to strike out, with a career strikeout rate of just 11.4 percent. He didn’t join MLB until age 32 after a long career in Cuba.
His bat dropped off signficantly in 2022 and he joined the Marlins last year, hitting just .