Gurriel makes Miami’s roster: ‘He’s a winning baseball player’
JUPITER, Fla. — Marlins common supervisor Kim Ng introduced Sunday that first baseman Yuli Gurriel will make the Opening Day roster, whereas shortstop José Iglesias is not going to — although he’ll stay within the group. Both had the flexibility to decide out on Saturday.
The veterans signed every signed a Minor League deal on March 10 and have been attempting to make up for misplaced time over the previous two weeks. Manager Skip Schumaker mentioned after Friday night time’s 3-2 Grapefruit League win over the Astros: “They’re both showing that they still can play the Major Leagues.”
With a full 40-man roster, Miami might want to clear house for Gurriel. The seemingly corresponding transfer is transferring Max Meyer (Tommy John rehab) to the 60-day injured listing.
Gurriel, who will flip 39 in June, is a two-time World Series champion with the Astros and gained the American League Gold Glove Award at first base and the AL batting title in 2021. Entering Sunday, he’s 5-for-22 with an RBI double and one strikeout in seven Grapefruit League video games, together with a success in every of his previous three.
“He can spell [Garrett Cooper] however many times a week. We see him taking some spots at the DH at times, a day here, a day there, also pinch-hitting late in the game,” Ng mentioned. “Gurriel in particular puts together a pretty professional at-bat, and if you need the ball in play, he’s going to be a pretty good guy you can call on.”
Cooper, a 2022 All-Star, is slated for main first-base duties for the primary time, having appeared on the place a career-high 73 instances in 2019. But there wasn’t an apparent backup choice on the roster, with Miami preferring to maintain Luis Arraez at second base. No. 10 prospect Jordan Groshans had been studying first this spring, however he missed two weeks with a left shoulder subject after making two diving performs, and he was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville earlier on Sunday. Gurriel has additionally been taking grounders at second and third to showcase his versatility.
“That defense is real, so I don’t care what any metric says,” Schumaker mentioned Saturday. “He can play third, he can play second, he can play first. He’s that type of athlete. He’s been needed to play first in Houston, but if you watch him take ground balls, he can play multiple positions, and he’s a baseball player. That’s just who he is. He’s a winning baseball player.”
The 33-year-old Iglesias is a slick-fielding shortstop who may’ve served as a right-handed-hitting complement to the left-handed-hitting Joey Wendle. At the plate, Iglesias is 2-for-13 with two doubles, 4 strikeouts and one stroll in seven Grapefruit League appearances. On Friday and Saturday, Iglesias had are available in as a defensive substitute.
Wendle has served in a utility infield position all through his seven-year profession, however he’s projected to be the on a regular basis shortstop. Schumaker mentioned utility participant Jon Berti would “play some shortstop, maybe more than he did last year [10 games],” particularly towards robust lefties.
“It was a very difficult decision because [Gurriel and Iglesias] got to camp late, and I just wish we had more at-bats and we had more games to see them play,” Ng mentioned. “But ultimately, you don’t get to determine what exactly happens on that front. So we just had to make the best decision that we could. One of the messages to [Iglesias] was, ‘We’d just like to see you more.’ We talk about guys coming in and working themselves into shape and getting their timing and all those types of things, this just gives us more leeway and gives him more runway to get those things in order.”
