The Athletics signed Colombian third baseman Gio Urshela on December 19 with physical pending from his one-year deal, Martin Gallegos, the team beat writer for MLB.com reported.
Can confirm A’s have reached an agreement with veteran 3B Gio Urshela. One-year deal is pending physical. First: @Ken_Rosenthal.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) December 20, 2024
He elected free agency on October 31 before him signing with the Athletics.
Urshela, 33, was born in Cartagena, Colombia, and has played nine seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians in 2015 and 2017, the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018, the New York Yankees from 2019-21, the Minnesota Twins in 2022, the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, the Detroit Tigers in 2024, and the Atlanta Braves in 2024.
Urshela was released by the Tigers on August 18 last season, prior to signing with the Braves as a free agent on August 20.
Last season between Detroit and Atlanta, Urshela played in 128 games with 461 plate appearances, hitting .250, ripping 108 hits, 19 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 52 RBI, 23 walks, 72 strikeouts, and a .647 OPS.
He played in 110 games with 102 starts at third base with the Tigers and Angels, through 902.1 innings, with 250 chances, 59 putouts, 184 assists, seven errors, 22 double plays, and a .972 fielding percentage.
In 2023 with the Angels, Urshela played in 62 games while batting .299 with 228 plate appearances, dialing 64 hits, eight doubles, one triple, two home runs, 24 RBI, three stolen bases, 10 walks, 36 strikeouts, and a .703 OPS prior him being transferred to the 60-day injured list with a left pelvis fracture on June 24, 2023, ending his season.
Urshela, in his nine seasons in the MLB, has a 9.7 WAR with a lifetime average at .273 in 2,831 plate appearances playing in 792 games, rocking 716 hits, 133 doubles, eight triples, 73 home runs, 332 RBI, seven stolen bases, 165 walks, 515 strikeouts, and a .729 OPS.
Urshela will compete with Max Schuemann at third base during the 2024 Cactus League season.
During the 2024 regular season, the Athletics offense had a 13.1 WAR with 6,034 plate appearances, hitting .233, with 1,267 hits, 240 doubles, 19 triples, 196 home runs, 619 RBI, 98 stolen bases, 493 walks, 1,502 strikeouts, and a .694 OPS.
In 2024, the Athletics finished fourth in the American League West Division, at 69-93, in their last year in Oakland, Calif., under manager Mark Kotsay.
The Athletics will play on the road in their first spring training game against the San Diego Padres at 3 p.m. EST on February 22 at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz.
The Athletics will open the 2025 regular season on the road against the Seattle Mariners on March 27 at 10:10 p.m. EDT.
