Yuli Gurriel seeks to return to the Big Leagues at 39 years old

I met the two-time World Series champion at North Port, FL.

When I met him last Thursday at the Atlanta Braves training facilities in North Porth, Florida, Yuli Gurriel had planned to stay there for a few weeks. After months separated from competitive baseball, he needed more conditioning at-bats and defensive runs. But the Braves have different plans for the two-time World Series champion: per sources, he is on his way to join the Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A) in Norfolk.

Many considered Yuli's career over after a season as a backup for the Marlins and being unable to sign before Spring Training. At the end of March of this year, he changed agencies and hired Gene Mato, agent of former MLB Anibal Sanchez and now representative of players such as Eduardo Rodriguez and Julio Teheran.

Weeks after, he signed a Minor League contract with the Braves and reported to the team’s training facilities in Western Florida. Gurriel is battling to be on an MLB roster again, so I drove five hours from Miami to discuss this journey with him.