Yuli Gurriel with the Kansas City Royals in 2024. Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Padres manager addresses biggest question about Yuli Gurriel signing

By Kevin Henry | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 6:06 PM ET

The recent signing of Yuli Gurriel to a minor league deal by the San Diego Padres raised some eyebrows — and not just because the Padres were adding another potential offensive weapon.

A nine-year MLB veteran, Gurriel, then with the Houston Astros, was suspended for the first five games of the 2018 season for an inappropriate gesture aimed at then-Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish during the 2017 World Series. Now, more than seven years after the much-publicized moment, it is possible that the two could be Padres teammates in 2025.

Darvish, who called the gesture "disrespectful" after the Game 3 incident, enters his fifth season as a key part of the Padres rotation and a veteran member of the clubhouse.

In the moments after the Padres announced Gurriel's signing, many wondered if the two could put the past incident behind them. On Tuesday, manager Mike Shildt clarified that Darvish knew about the potential signing before it happened and had given his blessing to the move, speaking to the "grace and forgiveness" needed to move forward.

Mike Shildt says AJ Preller spoke to Yu Darvish before signing Yuri Gurriel@SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/LTmZkJotUE
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) February 18, 2025

While there is no guarantee that Gurriel will make the Padres roster, it's clear that San Diego president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller wanted to alleviate any concerns or potential issues with Darvish before bringing his former adversary on board. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Preller checked with Darvish at least three times before the Gurriel signing was made.

"I don’t care," Darvish said he told Preller, according to Acee. "If he signs. I don’t want you guys to think too much about it. I just want it to be like nothing happened before."

In his short time with the Padres, Gurriel has already shown what he can do with the bat, hitting a home run off San Diego starter Michael King, who finished seventh in last year's National League Cy Young Award voting.

Yuli Gurriel hits a homer to left field against Michael King in live BP. pic.twitter.com/dzR3wZPY4o
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 18, 2025

The 40-year-old Gurriel saw action in just 18 games last season with the Kansas City Royals after being traded by the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 31. Before the trade, Gurriel played 75 games for Atlanta's Triple-A team, slashing .292/.378/.485 with 12 home runs and 48 RBI in 291 at-bats.

Gurriel has a career slash line of .280/.326/.438 in 3,699 MLB plate appearances, 3,305 of which came during his seven seasons with the Astros.

Kevin Henry

A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Kevin Henry has been covering MLB and MiLB for nearly two decades. Those assignments have included All-Star Games and the MLB postseason, including the World Series. Based in the Denver area, Kevin calls Coors Field his home base, but travels throughout North America during the season to discover the best stories possible

More must-reads: