Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gurriel and the second or maternal family name is Castillo.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Gurriel with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 12
Left fielder
Born: (1993-10-10) October 10, 1993 (age 31)
Sancti Spíritus, Cuba
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 2018, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.279
Home runs110
Runs batted in411
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men’s baseball
Representing  Cuba
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Veracruz National Team
World Port Tournament
Gold medal – first place 2015 Netherlands National team

Lourdes Yunielki Gurriel Castillo Jr. (born October 10, 1993) is a Cuban-American professional baseball left fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays. He also played for Sancti Spíritus and the Industriales of the Cuban National Series before defecting from Cuba.

Following his defection, Gurriel was ranked as one of the top international prospects before signing with the Blue Jays in 2016. He made his MLB debut with Toronto in 2018 before being traded to the Diamondbacks prior to the 2023 season. In his first season with Arizona, he was named to his first MLB All-Star Game and helped the team reach the 2023 World Series.

Professional career

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Cuban National Series

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Gurriel debuted in the Cuban National Series with Sancti Spíritus in 2010 as a 16-year-old. Used as a pinch hitter, Gurriel batted .200 in 15 at bats over 16 games.[1] The following season, Gurriel appeared in 55 games and batted .227 with three home runs and 16 runs batted in (RBIs).[1] In his final season with Sancti Spíritus, Gurriel hit .253 with four home runs and 32 RBIs in 67 games.[1]

In 2013 Gurriel joined the Industriales, playing 45 games and hitting .218 with one home run and 17 RBIs.[1] Prior to the start of the 2014 season, Gurriel represented Cuba at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, earning the gold medal. He appeared in 63 games in 2014 and greatly improved upon his 2013 campaign, batting .308 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs.[1] With the Industriales in 2015, Gurriel hit .344 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs.[1] After the Cuban League season, Gurriel agreed to a contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but did not appear in any games for the team and was placed on the restricted list.[2][3]

In February 2016, Gurriel and his brother Yulieski defected after competing in the Caribbean Series in the Dominican Republic.[4]

Toronto Blue Jays

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In August 2016, Gurriel was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball (MLB), and ranked as the sixth best international prospect available.[5] In September, he held a showcase of his skills at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama that was attended by 60 MLB scouts.[6] On November 12, Gurriel signed a seven-year, $22 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.[7] Gurriel took part in spring training with the Blue Jays, and was assigned to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Advanced-A Florida State League on March 17, 2017.[8][9] Gurriel began the season on the disabled list with a leg injury. He made his minor league debut on April 18, but left the game with a recurrence of the same injury.[10] On July 12, Gurriel was promoted to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Double-A Eastern League after appearing in 18 games for Dunedin.[11] In total, Gurriel played in 64 games in 2017 and hit .229 with five home runs and 36 RBI.[1] He played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) during the offseason.[12]

Gurriel began the 2018 season with New Hampshire. He batted .347 in 12 games, and was promoted to the major leagues on April 20.[13] In his debut that night, Gurriel recorded two singles and three RBI.[14] On April 28, Gurriel hit his first career home run, against Bartolo Colón of the Texas Rangers.[15] On July 27, Gurriel recorded his first multi-home run game by hitting two home runs in a 10–5 win over the Chicago White Sox.[16] By collecting a pair of singles in Toronto's game against the White Sox the following night, Gurriel became the first rookie in baseball's modern era to have 10 consecutive multi-hit games. The last rookie to accomplish this feat was Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1911.[17] On July 29, Gurriel broke Jackson's rookie record with his 11th consecutive multi-hit game. Jackson also set the overall AL record with an 11-game multi-hit streak in 1912. Simultaneous with breaking Jackson's 1911 rookie record, Gurriel also tied Jackson's all-time AL record. However, on his third hit of the game on July 29, Gurriel was injured, and was subsequently put on the disabled list.[18] On September 25, Gurriel was shut down for the rest of the season with a sore left hamstring.[19]

After starting the 2019 season hitting .175 in 13 games and struggling with throws from second base, the Blue Jays optioned Gurriel to the Buffalo Bisons of the Triple-A International League.[20] At Buffalo, Gurriel began playing as an outfielder.[21][22] On offense, he finished the 2019 hitting .277 with 20 home runs in 84 games for the Blue Jays. On defense, he led all major league left fielders in assists, with 9.[23]

Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Gurriel batted .308 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in 57 games, and was named one of three finalists for the Gold Glove.[24] In 2021, Gurriel set career highs on offense, hitting .276 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs in 141 games with Toronto. He also set a club record for most grand slams(4) in a season, including a game-tying slam against the Oakland Athletics on September 5. He also led all left fielders with 12 assists and was named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award for the second consecutive year.[citation needed]

On July 22, 2022, in a game in which the Blue Jays defeated the Boston Red Sox 28–5, Gurriel recorded six hits with five RBIs. The accomplishment matched the franchise single-game record for hits, tying Frank Catalanotto who achieved the feat in 2004.[25]

Arizona Diamondbacks

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On December 23, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Gurriel and Gabriel Moreno to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Daulton Varsho.[26] Gurriel was named an All-Star for the first time in his MLB career on July 2, 2023.[27] He became a free agent following the season.

On December 22, 2023, Gurriel re-signed with Arizona on a three-year, $42 million contract.[28]

Gurriel was announced as part of FEPCUBE's "Patria y Vida" team of expatriate Cuban ballplayers participating in the inaugural Intercontinental Series in Barranquilla, Colombia.[29]

Personal life

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Gurriel's older brother, Yuli, also played in Cuba before defecting, and they are sons of former Cuban National Series player Lourdes Gourriel. Yuli later signed with the Houston Astros. Lourdes Jr.'s family lives in Miami, Florida.[citation needed]

Lourdes and Yuli made baseball history on September 21, 2018, when each hit two home runs, becoming the first brothers to have multi-homer performances on the same day.[30]

Gurriel became a United States citizen on May 8, 2023.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  2. ^ Garcia, Anne-Marie. "Cinco cubanos verán accion en la liga de Japón". MLB.com (in Spanish). Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  3. ^ Badler, Ben (June 5, 2015). "Something is up with the Gourriel brothers". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Strauss, Ben (February 8, 2016). "Star Brothers Are Apparently the Latest to Defect From Cuba". The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  5. ^ "2016 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  6. ^ Sanchez, Jesse (September 14, 2016). "Younger Gurriel brother, Lourdes, on display at showcase". MLB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  7. ^ Sanchez, Jesse (November 12, 2016). "Cuba's Gurriel Jr. signs 7-year deal with Blue Jays". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (March 18, 2017). "Top prospect Alford, 3 others among spring cuts". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  9. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays Transactions in March 2017". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  10. ^ "Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Injured in first minor-league game". CBSSports.com. April 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Campbell, Morgan (July 12, 2017). "Blue Jays promoting infield prospect Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Double-A". thestar.com. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  12. ^ Mitchell, Scott (August 29, 2017). "Gurriel Jr. headlines Jays' Fall League assignments". TSN.ca. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  13. ^ Davidi, Shi (April 20, 2018). "Blue Jays call up Gurriel Jr., option Mayza and Ngoepe". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "Gurriel Jr. has 3 RBIs in MLB debut, Blue Jays top Yanks". Sportsnet. April 20, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  15. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (April 28, 2018). "Gurriel Jr. hammers first MLB homer". MLB.com. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  16. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (July 28, 2018). "Gurriel leads power display as Jays take opener". MLB.com. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  17. ^ "Gurriel Jr. sets Blue Jays record for consecutive multi-hit games". Sportsnet. July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  18. ^ Baer, Bill (July 29, 2018). "Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. extends multi-hit game streak to 11, exits with injury". mlb.nbcsports.com. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  19. ^ Colley, Mark (September 25, 2018). "Lourdes Gurriel Jr., out for season with hamstring strain". Bluebirdbanter.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  20. ^ Zencka, TC (April 14, 2019). "Blue Jays Recall Eric Sogard, Send Lourdes Gurriel Jr. To Triple A". Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  21. ^ Chisholm, Gregor (May 4, 2019). "Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to transition to outfield | Toronto Blue Jays". Mlb.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  22. ^ "Gurriel's road back to Blue Jays could be through outfield". Sportsnet.ca. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  23. ^ "2019 Major League Baseball Fielding Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  24. ^ "Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  25. ^ "Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ties Blue Jays' single-game record for hits". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  26. ^ "OF/C Varsho acquired by Blue Jays for Gurriel, Moreno". Toronto Blue Jays. December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  27. ^ McDermott, Michael (July 2, 2023). "Zac Gallen, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Make NL All-Star Roster". si.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  28. ^ "Gurriel Jr. returning to NL champs on 3-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  29. ^ "Anunciado el roster preliminar FEPCUBE 'Patria y Vida' que jugará en la Serie Intercontinental de Béisbol". Diario de Cuba. December 29, 2023.
  30. ^ "Gurriel brothers set MLB record, each hit pair of home runs on Friday night". Yahoo Sports. September 21, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  31. ^ "D-backs' Cuban-born Gurriel Jr. now U.S. Citizen". ESPN.com. May 9, 2023.
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