Yuli can probably manage to get by at first base and DH a little if he is hitting well but I think his days as a utility player are behind him. Second and third base require more spring in your step than he has left to give.
Astros were 29th in offense at 1B in 2022 .619 OPS. 76 OPS+ .273 wOBA 60 wRC was actually 30th - LAST IN MLB resigning Yuli to come back as starter a year older is insanity. And resigning for the bench means Dusty can start him.
He'll be getting significant Arbitration awards the next two seasons to offset his excess value over salary, so the return might not be as much as you might think.
Would have no problem if they did this (coming back as a backup). Some on here don't want to even consider this because in their opinion he sucks.
I think Yuli brings many good things to this team. It's a shame he isn't the SS, C, or CF where the bat isn't as vital. I do not think he stinks but age and father time get us all eventually There are only 3 bench spots after b/u catcher is considered It's tough to fill one of them with a poor hitting 1B making $5M+
Dude just led the team in batting during a title-winning postseason run and you want to drop him like a bad habit? If you have championship aspirations how do you justify axing your most consistent playoff hitter? We obviously don't need Yuli to play worth a damn to win 100+ games and run away w the division but we sure af needed him in the lineup throughout our entire playoff run. Dropping a tried and true postseason performer bc you don't like his regular season production is beyond dumb. Doesn't mean we shouldn't go after someone like Abreu but Yuli has earned a roster spot for next year.
Go look up Yuli’s postseason stats. He’s been bad more often than he’s been good. Consistently worse than in the regular season. Last year the inverse happened.
I respectfully disagree with you. First you have to win in the regular season to get into the playoffs. And the 29th best production from a position that is 95% offense does not help that at all. And Yuli hit well this year in the playoffs but not EVERY year. Yuli has played in 17 playoff series. Under .700 OPS in 8 of them including under .500 OPS in 5 of them.
Yuli is a certified, winning, HOF caliber ball player. The notion that he has no value and should be let go is perplexing. He is able to help the team in a ton of ways. Obviously he should not be slotted for starting reps. But the notion that he should not be on the team is wild. We just won it all and in large part because of him. How far removed from watching the playoffs are some of y’all? If he is willing to accept a bench role, it’s a big win-win IMO. Would be great for the clubhouse to retain him. Obviously this is contingent on Yuli being okay with not starting (if that option is even on the market elsewhere), then I would love to see him back. I don’t see a ton of competitive offers unless a rebuilding team wants to take a pricier-than-our-taste flier from a vet presence standpoint.
what I’m referencing is that he would be in the HOF argument if he spent his entire careed in MLB vs Cuba. Bregman talked about it a few months ago and why he thinks Yuli was *that* good.
I think maybe you should be certified Kidding. Seriously though There are 3 bench spots to back up all 4 infield and 3 outfield positions. Yuli has played exactly 2 innings at 3B in the past 3 seasons and no innings anywhere else except 1B. He is 39 and the stats show he had significantly less range at 1b this year than last year. It's unrealistic to think his defense can be MLB calibur at any position other than 1B. Do you really think he should take up a roster spot leaving only 2 bench spots for back ups at all 3 OF and the other 3 infield?
Had Yuli come to the US as a 17 year old, he would undoubtedly have had a HOF career by this point in my opinion. He'd be likely sitting at 2500+ hits and 350+ home runs with multiple all star games and gold gloves. I'd like to have him back cheap but not as a starter. What we are seeing of Yuli's career is more or less the Angels' portion of Pujols' career. We missed out on the prime years.
That's never been a huge problem with the Cubans, they have an actual medical system that keeps proper records. It was a huge problem in the Dominican and others, but almost all of that went away post-9/11 with the heightened requirements for visas and such.
He has been mentioned here a bit, including my dream scenario where we sign JV and trade Urquidy and prospects for Walker. We would still have money for brantley/yuli/conforto/etc… I think it’s actually the best option. But we have to resign JV. Because that’s the only way we can include Garcia or Urquidy. Otherwise we have to spend way more in prospects than I would want to. So yes, overpaying JV but getting the best 1b option for 7-8mil makes up for it.
