Gio Urshela Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 0" / 215 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/11/1991 (32)
- Experience
- 8
- College
- None
Gio Urshela Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Gio Urshela News
When the Detroit Tigers signed infielder Gio Urshela to a one-year, $1.5 million deal late in February, having him serve as the primary third baseman in 2024 always made the most sense but the Tigers didn't make any declarations about his playing time because they needed to evaluate his on-field performance in his return from a broken pelvis last year. With eight days until Opening Day on March 28 against the Chicago White Sox, Urshela hasn't locked down starting duties at the hot corner as he competes with Matt Vierling, Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibanez. Vierling was projected to be the primary third baseman before the team signed Urshela, only to move back to his previous role as an outfielder. Urshela is the best defender, but he hasn't been hitting for power or drawing walks on offense. Urshela and Vierling -- both right-handed hitters -- are at the top of the pecking order in the internal plan for a primary third baseman.
Free-agent infielder Gio Urshela and the Detroit Tigers agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal on Thursday, according to sources. The 32-year-old veteran should help the Tigers at third base and can also play the outfield and at first base. His ability to hit left-handers suits what the Tigers have been seeking over the winter. A fractured pelvis limited Urshela to 62 games with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, and he hit .299/.329/.374 with 24 RBI in 228 plate appearances before the injury. The veteran Colombian could now be the favorite for most of the playing time at the hot corner in Detroit, at least against left-handers. In his career against southpaws, he's hit .290/.328/.445 with 17 homers and 67 RBI in 682 plate appearances. Urshela provides little power but could carry a strong average for fantasy managers in deep-mixed and AL-only leagues because of his high contact rate.
The Boston Red Sox are among the teams interested in adding free-agent infielder Gio Urshela, according to a source. In addition to Boston, the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, and Miami Marlins have been looking at Urshela. His market has been slow to develop this offseason. The 32-year-old veteran is best known for three strong years with the Yankees from 2019-21. He's seen most of his appearances (585 of 643) at third base, where the Red Sox already have Rafael Devers. If signed, the Red Sox likely would view Urshela as a right-handed option at first base as an upgrade over Bobby Dalbec while providing insurance for Devers at the hot corner. Urshela fractured his pelvis in June and played only 62 games for the Angels in 2023.
Batting Order
1 | Mark Canha |
2 | Wenceel Pérez |
3 | Kerry Carpenter |
4 | Spencer Torkelson |
5 | Gio Urshela |
6 | Colt Keith |
7 | Zach McKinstry |
8 | Carson Kelly |
9 | Parker Meadows |
Gio Urshela Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Mark Canha |
2 | Wenceel Pérez |
3 | Kerry Carpenter |
4 | Spencer Torkelson |
5 | Gio Urshela |
6 | Colt Keith |
7 | Zach McKinstry |
8 | Carson Kelly |
9 | Parker Meadows |
After his out-of-nowhere breakout in 2019, the pressure was on New York Yankees third basemanGio Urshela to prove it wasn't a fluke. He lived up to it, as he put together a very nice 2020 season. While he didn't display as strong a power profile as he did in 2019, he did still manage a solid .192 ISO and his Statast batted-ball profile is quite encouraging and not far off from his 2019 breakout season. His average exit velocity (91.4 mph) and expected batting average (.315) both topped his 2019 marks, while his barrel and hard-hit rates were in line with his 2019 season. Urshela also maintained his reputation for putting the ball in play, with his strikeout rate dropping way down to 14.4%, one of the lowest marks in baseball. Urshela also made strides in what was his biggest area of weakness: plate discipline. His walk rate skyrocketed to 10.3%, double what it was in 2019. This was due to Urshela being a bit more selective at the plate. His swing rate dropped 8% to 48.2% swing rate. That drop in swing rate is mainly due to his chase rate dropping 12.5% to 27.6%. Urshela already had an encouraging batted-ball profile, but with an extra boost in plate discipline, he should be a player to believe in going forward and is likely still a bargain with an ADP in the 150s.