Tigers sign infielder Gio Urshela to a one-year contract.
Urshela provides the team with another viable option against left-handed pitching.
Jeff Passan reported on Thursday afternoon that the Tigers have signed infielder Gio Urshela to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. UPDATE: To create place on the 40-man roster, freshly acquired outfielder TJ Hopkins has been DFA’d.
Urshela is a bat-first utility infielder who spent the 2023 season with the Angels. His offensive abilities rely on a strong contact percentage, as he hit.299/.329/.374 with two home runs in 62 games last season. While that is a somewhat below-average performance by wRC+, it would have been enough to be among the Tigers’ top nine hitters last season. Urshela poses a particular threat to left-handed pitching. He has a career.290 batting average versus southpaws and improved to.373 last year. His season was cut short by a fall on 20th July, which resulted in a broken pelvis and kept him off the pitch for the rest of Los Angeles’ season.
Urshela, 32, was recruited by Cleveland as a youngster from Colombia and made his debut with the team in 2016. He is most remembered for his three years as a Yankee, during which he had two monster years at the plate as the team’s regular third baseman. He batted.314 and blasted 21 home runs in his breakout 2019 season, and he followed it up with an equally strong run during the brief 2020 season. After a severe drop in performance, the Yankees transferred him to Minnesota, where he quickly regained his form and hit for a 122 wRC+ in 2022.
The Angels acquired Urshela before to last season, presumably anticipating him to be a valuable two-way player. It was a wise decision, given his positional versatility and track record of offensive success. However, even before he was incapacitated, they received less.
In the four years from 2019 to 2022, the third baseman averaged a barrel rate of around 7.5%. Last year, that figure plummeted dramatically, and he barreled only 3.9% of hit balls. Similarly, his hard contact rate decreased from 40 percent to 33.7%. Who is the principal culprit? He no longer had good performance versus the sinker. Last year, Statcast rated him as a.172 hitter against the pitch, with significantly lower SLG, xSLG, and hard contact percentage than his career averages.
That being said, there are no drawbacks to this signing. On the scale of MLB budgeting, his deal is worth only $1.5 million. And even if he can’t drive two seam fastballs anymore, which is a possibility given his age, he’s still a valuable guy to have. After all, Urshela is a competent defender who doesn’t mind putting the bat on the ball, and his approach looks to be consistent based on batted ball distribution and plate discipline rates.
This signing adds to Detroit’s already difficult infield predicament. Urshela has played considerable innings at first and third base, as well as shortstop. The Tigers will definitely prioritise at-bats for Mark Canha and Spencer Torkelson at first base, and Javy Báez will play shortstop anyway. Urshela will share at-bats at third base with Matt Vierling, Andy Ibáñez, Zach McKinstry, and Jace Jung around midseason. Something needs to give.
However, with such a cheap fee and only one year, there is no drawback. If he gets a regular part-time job, he’ll be an affordable bridge to the next generation. Even if he frequently sits on the bench, his bat is a valuable asset in pinch hitting situations, especially against lefties. The squad is willing to pay the expense of a booming offence, even if it means losing Ibáñez or Jung early in the season. In lack of a genuine competent full-time player, AJ Hinch loves his choices, and Urshela gives another one with specialised attributes that may help them put their infield together, especially in the early going.
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