Cuban IFer Yulieski Gourriel declared a FA

[bloodbrother]

Source: Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel has been declared a free agent & is free to sign with a team. He's considered ready for @mlb.

— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) June 13, 2016

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

We should sign him! But, we won't....

 

He's still got a few years left.

[Blarg]

Why sign a guy that has a short term career span?

[Chuck]

Anyone with a scouting report on this guy?

[Blarg]

By the way, you remember how awesome Jose Abreu was as a rookie? His .964 OPS has withered away to .730 this season. Like Puig it appears his roids have worn off since coming stateside and now is just an average player working his way to replacement level.

[IEAngelsfan]

His age is listed at 32, which means he's probably 35.  Yup, that's about the age we sign FA's.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

1 minute ago, Blarg said:

By the way, you remember how awesome Jose Abreu was as a rookie? His .964 OPS has withered away to .730 this season. Like Puig it appears his roids have worn off since coming stateside and now is just an average player working his way to replacement level.

It's still early yet for Abreu this year!

Many would love his line from last season out of CJ Cron 30/101 .290-.347-.850...

[Make Angels Great Again]

31 years old. Primarily plays 3B with a career .997 OPS.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=gourri000yul

[Make Angels Great Again]

Sorry actually 32 years old, didn't play in 2016.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

6 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Anyone with a scouting report on this guy?

Guy was lights out in the World Baseball Classics! Huge hits throughout and solid defense at both SS and 3B at the time.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Yulieski Gourriel is known as the best active Cuban player yet to play in MLB. The right-handed hitting infielder is a career .330/.412/.570 in 14 seasons in the Cuban National Series. Gourriel has permission from the Cuban government to also play for the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japan Central League, where he posted a similar slash line in 2014.

Here is a blurry picture of Yulieski I took on March 4, 2014. Estadio Lationamericano, Havana, Cuba

I was lucky enough to watch Gourriel play four games in Havana in 2014. He showed me above average power and the ability to shoot line drives into the gap. Most impressive was how he turned on an inside fastball against the Artemisa Cazadores and kept it fair for a line drive home run (similar to what he did in the Caribbean Series yesterday). He hits to all fields, but lacks punch to the right side. Gourriel has a slightly open stance and a serious bat wrap. His swing reminds me of Juan Gonzalez.

Gourriel shows good hands in the infield. He plays both third and second base in Cuba and Japan. I saw him make a few plus defensive plays with his glove and arm for the Industriales of Havana, where he was stationed at third.  He has average speed and didn’t show me any aggressiveness on the basepaths.

Yulieski comes from a baseball family. Both of his brothers (Yunieski and Lourdes Jr.) play with him on the Industriales and his father is one of Cuba’s all-time greats. He has an athletic body and looks taller than his listed 6’0″ when he’s on the field.

Gourriel would be an above average player in MLB, both offensively and with the glove. I see him as a 15 to 20 HR third baseman who could consistently post a .350 OB%. At 31 years old, however, his window for Major League production may be closing fast.

http://60ft6in.com/2015/02/09/scouting-report-yulieski-gourriel/

[totdprods]

He would have made sense pre-Escobar, but that obviously wasn't possible. Don't see a fit. He'd replace someone like Marte in the short-term, and as of now I'd prefer giving Marte a shot. Dude is only 24 and has an .820 OPS over 120 at-bats. Pretty even against righties and lefties too. 

[DMVol]

I know the track record on the recent Cuban FA guys is not great but I've thought for some time that signing one (or more) is a way around the difficult situation we find ourselves in--no farm, limited trading potential, unwillingness to sign American FA's and lose a draft pick and, most importantly, an owner who seems tapped out, at least in the short term. So, if your scouts really like this guy and Arte could be convinced to spend (without losing a draft pick), I'd look at it for sure....And as for his position (3b), I'm starting to wonder if Escobar's attitude "issues" aren't starting to be a problem with Scioscia, as they have been elsewhere.....We'll see....

[Make Angels Great Again]

You know, there was another third baseman that was 32 when he was signed that we missed out on. 

Texas grabbed him and we've been kicking ourselves since.

Adrian Beltre.

[Make Angels Great Again]

I'm not saying this guy is Beltre, but as an example you can't look at his age and immediately say "done."

[Make Angels Great Again]

Jefry Marte's numbers are so far from sustainable it's not even funny. He has 1 walk to 11 strikeouts.

Trade Escobar at the deadline and SIGN THIS GUY NOW. Best move we could make right there.

[joeybaseball]

Its always frustrating to see a report on Angelswin about another player from Cuba declaring free agency. We would never sign him so whats the point?

Sorry, just frustrating...

[Docwaukee]

signing a 32yo who has never played a game in major league baseball does nothing for us unless we were going to trade him and get younger.  This guy might have a 2-3 yr shelf life.  meh. 

[John Stellman]

Can he play second base?

[Angel Oracle]

I'd rather give Sherman Johnson a shot at 2B?

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

39 minutes ago, John Stellman said:

Can he play second base?

Yes, and 3B 

[Make Angels Great Again]

The Angels should be falling over themselves to sign this guy imo.

 

I don't think it's a forgone conclusion that he's good for 2 years then done. He could be very good for 2 or 3 then pretty good for another 2.

[Angel Oracle]

Right now, my trust in the org's scouts is not exactly off the charts.

Maybe the just concluded draft changes that thought?

[kevinb]

The typical Angels signing. How about we stay away from players older than 30 probably a good idea. Guys 32 in Cuba which means he is 42 in real life. 

[TroutField]

I mean if we were playing a little better and had a realistic shot at a wild card this year I would say go for it but our window of contention is looking to be at least 2-3 years away. 

 

If you are trading Escobar, Cowart better be getting full time reps at 3rd