MLB Rumors: Best Free Agent Fit For Yuli Gurriel

One of the last viable free agent bats still on the market is former Houston Astros first baseman, and 2021 American League batting champion, Yuli Gurriel. 

He is 38, and coming off a down season, but this guy knows how to hit, and can still contribute to a major league roster. 

Gurriel's best free agent fit:

The Minnesota Twins.

Gurriel could work well for the Twins for a number of reasons: 

• The Cuban infielder has a high-contact, low-strikeout rate, similar to the departed Luis Arraez (traded to the Miami Marlins last month for starter Pablo Lopez). Despite having close to 600 at-bats every season, Gurriel has never struck out more than 73 times in a season.  

• He has a long history and friendship with shortstop Carlos Correa from their days in Houston. The two worked well together, and were partners in crime (so to speak) on the controversial Astros team for six years. 

• Gurriel is an ironman. He's rarely missed even 20 games in a season over his seven-year career. And with their tragic injury history, wouldn't the Twins love to have a player they could just set-and-forget on a daily basis. 

• And hey, why not replace the 2022 batting champ with the 2021 batting champ?

Word last month was that Gurriel was on the verge of a deal with the Miami Marlins, but the Fish apparently cooled on the deal, and Gurriel is still out there for the taking. 

Photo: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports