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Astros Notes: Gurriel, McCullers, Bullpen

Astros Notes: Gurriel, McCullers, Bullpen

As Yuli Gurriel’s free agency lingered into the late stages of the offseason, many Astros fans wondered whether there might be potential for a reunion between the two parties. Houston GM Dana Brown candidly acknowledged last month that while the organization loved Gurriel as both a person and a player, it would be difficult to get him at-bats with the current construction of the roster, however. Gurriel, who signed a minor league deal with the Marlins last week, spoke further about his former team’s interest — or lack thereof — in an interview with Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros, according to Gurriel, never made an offer for him to return for an eighth season.

The 38-year-old Gurriel told Young that “leaving my teammates behind after seven years is something that truly affects you” but added that he’s looking forward to starting a new chapter with a new club. The Astros, of course, signed Jose Abreu to a three-year contract early in the offseason, apparently deciding that it was simply time to move on from Gurriel after a down year in 2022.

More on the ’Stros…

  • Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., who’ll open the season on the injured list due to a forearm strain, says he’s been cleared to resume lifting weights and throwing a baseball (link via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). McCullers started a throwing program on Saturday and is playing catch every other day. He’ll sit down with the training staff at some point over the next week and map out a more concrete plan to ramp up for a return, assuming the light throwing and lifting he’s doing right now continue to proceed without issue. A forearm strain also limited McCullers to just eight regular-season starts in 2021, and he missed the entire 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery. When healthy, he has of course been a highly productive pitcher, evidenced by a 3.39 ERA over his past 393 1/3 MLB frames, dating back to 2018. McCullers is entering the second season of a five-year, $85MM contract extension that was signed two years ago (nearly to the day). Top prospect Hunter Brown is expected to open the season in Houston’s rotation in his place.
  • Manager Dusty Baker said this week that southpaw Parker Mushinski is “probably not” going to be ready in time for Opening Day, Young writes in a separate piece. The 27-year-old has been out with back spasms and has yet to pitch in a spring game. He allowed three runs in 7 1/3 frames during last year’s MLB debut after…

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