It's not about the fit. It's about the talent.
Don't worry about how the Houston Astros will fit all of their good infielders into the lineup. Worry about the fact they have so many good players in the first place.
I'm not going to use the "TeamoftheFuture" hashtag MLB Network's Brian Kenny uses for his favorite franchise, but I do love the week the Astros are having.
You couldn't watch Alex Bregman in Sunday's All-Star Futures Game without thinking Bregman's future is coming fast. And you couldn't look at Friday's signing of Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel, first reported by Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, without thinking the Astros are serious.
They're serious about the future, for sure, but Gurriel is 32 years old. Signing him for $47.5 million over five years, and beating out big-market teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, strongly suggests the Astros aim to become the Team of the Near Future too.
Remember, they made the playoffs a year ago and came within a blown lead in Game 4 of eliminating the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series.
The first month of this season wasn't good, with the Astros going 7-17. They were 10 games out of first place in the AL West by May 22, a season-worst 11 games under .500.
Then they started winning. In the final 44 games before the All-Star break, the Astros went 31-13, the best record in baseball in that time. The first-place Texas Rangers slumped before the break and lost again Friday to the Chicago Cubs, cutting the Astros' deficit to five games.
They keep winning, on the field and off.
On July 2, the first day of the international free-agent signing period, MLB.com's Sanchez tweeted:
Then came Gurriel. The Astros were never discussed as one of the favorites when he became a free agent, because he plays second base and third base, and the Astros have Jose Altuve at second and Bregman ready to take over at third.
One day in late June, Gurriel posted a picture of himself in an Astros uniform, as tweeted by @NicoRafa54:
It wasn't yet a sign of a done deal, because Gurriel also posted pictures of himself working out in New York Mets, Yankees, San Diego Padres, Dodgers and San Francisco Giants gear. It was a sign the Astros were serious.
The $47.5 million they committed Friday showed it even more.
But why not? It's only money, and Gurriel costs them nothing else. His contract didn't count against the international signing limit, and signing him didn't cost the Astros a prospect.
If anything, it allows them the option of trading one of their other infield prospects. It won't be Bregman, who should be called up soon, but the Astros could justify dealing Colin Moran, another former first-rounder who also plays third base.
As for Gurriel, no one really knows how much of an impact he'll make, and how soon. He's been training in Miami (with his brother Lourdes Gurriel Jr., an outfielder who was also a free agent), but he hasn't played in an actual game since defecting from Cuba in February.
He'll need time in the minor leagues, at least for a few weeks. He may need time to adjust.
But if he's as good as advertised, he could make an impact, and he could do it as soon as this September's pennant race—and perhaps this October's postseason.
As far as where he plays, these things often take care of themselves. Maybe he can play the outfield. Maybe Bregman, who will need to move off shortstop because Carlos Correa is there, could play the outfield or first base.
Don't worry about it. The key to winning is accumulating talent, and by signing Gurriel, the Astros seem to be doing just that.
They kept at it Friday, which pleased Kenny, the top Astros fan (or at least the most prominent media fan). Check out his first tweet after Sanchez reported the signing:
Forgive the spelling of Gurriel's name. It was Gourriel, until the family changed it less than two years ago.
The Astros have changed their look in the last couple of years too. They're full of talent now.
They've had a nice month and a great week. And they might just be setting themselves up for a great second half.
Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.
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