The Detroit Tigers have signed third baseman Gio Urshela of Cartagena, Colombia according to Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit Free Press on Monday. The terms of the deal are for one year and $1.5 million. Urshela is joining his sixth Major League Baseball franchise. He previously played for the Cleveland Indians (2015 and 2017), the Toronto Blue Jays (2018), the New York Yankees (2019 to 2021), the Minnesota Twins (2022), and the Los Angeles Angels (2023).
2023 MLB Statistics
In 2023, Urshela batted .299 with two home runs and 24 runs batted in. During 62 games, 228 at bats, and 214 at bats, he scored 22 runs, and had 64 hits, eight doubles, and one triple, along with three stolen bases, 80 total bases, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .329, and a slugging percentage of .374.
Urshela’s home runs in 2023 came in a 9-7 Angels loss to the Boston Red Sox on April 15, and in a 8-5 extra inning loss that went to 10 innings against the Miami Marlins on May 27. In the loss to the Red Sox, Urshela had five runs batted in as his home run was a grand slam. Urshela’s triple came in a 2-0 Angels loss to the Marlins on May 28, a day after he hit his second home run of the season.
Injury Issues
Urshela broke his pelvis on June 15 in a 5-3 Angels win over the Texas Rangers. As a result he missed the rest of the season. Urshela also had to deal with a groin injury while with the Yankees in 2020.
Breakout 2019 Season
Urshela had a notable 2019 Major League Baseball regular season. He had single season career-highs in home runs (21), runs batted in (74), runs scored (73), doubles (34), batting average (.314), slugging percentage (.534), on base plus slugging percentage (.889), and total bases (236). Urshela got regular playing time with the Bronx Bombers five years ago because of a torn labrum to the original hot corner specialist, Miguel Andujar of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
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