As he faces former team for first time, Marlins’ Yuli Gurriel reflects on time with Astros

For the entirety of his Major League Baseball career until signing with the Miami Marlins this offseason, all Yuli Gurriel knew were the Houston Astros.

“Seven years I spent in that organization,” Gurriel reflected Monday.

Despite starting his big-league career late following his defection from Cuba at age 32, he still established himself as a top-end baseball player and an even bigger clubhouse presence during his tenure with Houston.

The accolades followed.

A Gold Glove. A batting title. And, most importantly to Gurriel, two World Series titles.

Now, he is seeing the Astros from the opposite side for the first time in his MLB career, and the reunion is both competitive and ceremonial.

The Astros will present Gurriel with his 2022 World Series ring prior to Tuesday’s game against the Marlins at loanDepot park. It’s a moment Gurriel has been waiting for since Houston beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games for their second World Series title in six years.

“A long time has passed so I can get it,” Gurriel, 39, said Monday. “When you win a World Series, you want to get your ring the next day, right away.”

‘He’s a winning player:’ How Yuli Gurriel has helped Marlins whether he’s playing or not

While he’s no longer part of the organization, the Astros still hold Gurriel in high regard.

“Since I arrived in Miami, one of the first things I did was call Yuli,” said fellow Cuban Yordan Alvarez. “Apart from being a baseball player, his personality, his charisma. He’s a character. You could see how everyone related to him. That says a lot about Yuli.”

Added Astros manager Dusty Baker, who had Gurriel from 2020-2022: “Yuli was probably one of the most popular guys to come through the organization. Not only with the players, but with the fans, everybody. Yuli comes to play and he plays hard. He plays smart. We miss Yuli. We were hoping — at least I was hoping — to sign Yuli because we would have found a place for Yuli, even though we signed Jose Abreu. I think the Marlins are very lucky to have Yuli, especially with all the young players that they have.”

Gurriel said he had no ill will against the Astros when they opted not to re-sign him in the offseason. The Marlins signed Gurriel to a minor-league deal midway through spring training and he made the Opening Day roster to serve as the backup first baseman and be a veteran clubhouse presence for a young Miami roster that had its eyes set on being playoff contenders in Year 1 under new manager Skip Schumaker.

“I understand this is a business,” Gurriel said. “I understand the business side of the situation. I do stay with all the positive memories and wonderful things that I left over there in Houston with my teammates, all the great memories during those years.”

In seven seasons with the Astros, Gurriel had a career .284 batting average with 94 home runs, 435 RBI and 400 runs scored in 801 games played. He won both a Gold Glove and the American League batting title in 2021.

In 85 career playoff games, Gurriel hit .267 with 23 extra-base hits (including eight home runs). He struck out just once in 50 plate appearances during Houston’s 2022 World Series run.

“The desire to win is something that is big in an organization like that one,” Gurriel said. “That organization likes to win games. I will say that’s one of the things that I brought into here.”

He’s seeing those characteristics from his new team, too. The Marlins enter Tuesday having won five of their past six games, including a 5-1 win over the Astros in the series opener on Monday, to stay firmly entrenched in the National League wild card race.

“We have a group of guys that never gives up,” Gurriel said. “It’s something they’ve been surprising me with every time I see it. They never give up. They always work hard until the end of the game.”

While Gurriel said it was an adjustment early on not playing every day — he has started just 63 of Miami’s 120 games — he is content with his role now.

“I’m happy to keep helping all my teammates and trying to help them feel well,” Gurriel said. “To be honest, the majority of the attention I have is on helping my teammates be successful.”

Happy birthday

Josh Bell celebrated his 31st birthday in style on Monday.

The first baseman/designated hitter not only extended his on-base streak since joining the Marlins to 12 games — one shy of the franchise record for a mid-season acquisition to start his tenure with the club — but he was also part of just the second set of back-to-back-to-back home runs in Marlins history.

Bell’s solo shot against Hector Neris in the eighth inning capped the feat, with Jorge Soler and Luis Arraez hitting the first two home runs of the stretch against Astros starter Framber Valdez.

Bell became the 11th different Marlins player to hit a home run on his birthday and the first since Joey Wendle on April 26, 2022 at Washington.

Marlins sign Alfaro

The Marlins have signed catcher Jorge Alfaro to a minor-league deal. He is expected to report to Triple A Jacksonville this week.

Alfaro was a member of the Marlins for three seasons, from 2019-2021, after being acquired as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. Miami then traded Alfaro to the Padres before the 2022 season for cash considerations and he had since spent time with the Padres, Rockies and Red Sox over the past two seasons.