Houston Astros fans devastated by Yuli Gurriel joining the Miami Marlins: "Houston will always love you" "I miss you already La Piña"
After several months of negotiations, the Miami Marlins have agreed to sign free-agent first baseman Yuli Gurriel, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Talks continued between the Marlins and Gurriel even after a proposed deal fell through earlier this week, and the two sides have reportedly shook hands on a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
Gurriel played for the Houston Astros for his entire seven-year major league career and was part of Houston's World Series championship squads in both 2017 and 2022. However, he was made redundant after the Astros signed first baseman Jose Abreu this offseason.
Free-agent first baseman Yuli Gurriel in agreement with Marlins, source tells @TheAthletic.
Gurriel had been rumored to be heading to the Marlins most of the winter, but according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Miami "cooled" on signing him, and the Minnesota Twins were briefly believed to be a suitor.
However, with Rosenthal's report, it appears the long on again-off again engagement between Yuli Gurriel and the Miami Marlins has finally reached the wedding altar. Baseball fans are a bit surprised it took this long.
Why did the most obvious signing of the Winter take until March 9th? twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
Finally twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
Seemed inevitable earlier this offseason, now it’s come to fruition. Would have to imagine it’s a MiLB deal twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
Word of the deal had Astros fans feeling nostalgic for a player who had been part of – and had several key moments for – a long woebegone squad that finally made a resurgence and became one of MLB's power teams. Gurriel's three-run home run off of Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series etched his place in the hearts of Houston fans.
Forever an Astros legend twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/… https://t.co/yU62O0Z0lA
🥺 I miss you already, la piña @el_yuly10 
twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…Oh my heart 😭🥺 I miss you already, la piña @el_yuly10 🍍 twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
I’m happy for Yuli. Good luck in Miami! Houston will always love you. @el_yuly10 twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
Opinions remain mixed on whether Gurriel is a good signing for the Marlins, a bad move or just a plain a peculiar piece to add to the team.
I told EVERYONE A MONTH AGO YULI WOULD BE A FREAKING MARLIN!! YA’ll PUT ME IN MY PLACE…. WHO IS SMILING NOW!!!! #LETSGETLOUDER!!!!! LETSSSSS GOOOOOOO!! twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
Weirdest roster in the sport just got weirder twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
Not bad signing for Marlins. He’s old but he’s only a year removed from a .319avg .846 OPS 131 OPS+. Marlins could be sneaky this year if they figure out the offense/bullpen. twitter.com/ken_rosenthal/…
And, well, some sportsball fans are just plain confused people.
@Ken_Rosenthal @TheAthletic How much more help does LeBron need
Yuli Gurriel fills a need for Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins entered the offseason in need of offense and players who had been a part of successful organizations. Yuli Gurriel fills the bill on both counts.
A two-time World Series champion who also won a Gold Glove in 2022, Gurriel hit .284 with 94 home runs and 435 RBIs in seven seasons with the Astros. A fourth-place finisher in the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year vote, he led the AL with a .319 batting average in 2021, though he slumped to a .242 average with just eight home runs in 2022 – which likely necessitated Houston's move for Abreu as the team looks to defend its MLB title in 2023.