Released Tigers Veteran Misses Out on Power Rankings Despite Success With Braves
The Detroit Tigers brought veteran infielder Gio Urshela into the fold ahead of the 2024 season on a one-year, $1.5 million "prove it" deal. As the calendar approached August, the Tigers were below .500 and had no inclinations that they would be competing for a playoff berth, so the sell-off ensued.
Jack Flaherty, a veteran pitcher on the same kind of deal, made his way to the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing a key role in the team's second World Series Championship in five years. Urshela was kept around but was placed on release waivers in the middle of August, before being released. Just two days later, after an injury to their All-Star third baseman, the Atlanta Braves would sign Urshela.
The veteran found more success with his new club, his fifth in four years, on both offense and defense. Despite the success, Urshela was still not able to crack the positional power rankings. In his last third base power rankings of 2024, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report has Urshela just outside of the top 25, but earning an honorable mention.
The season as a whole for the 32-year-old was not the best. In fact, it was his worst season per OPS+ in years with 400 or more plate appearances. The veteran batted .250/.286/.361 with nine home runs, 52 RBI, and an 82 OPS+ across 461 plate appearances in 128 games in 2024.
Those numbers look much better than they should, thanks to his time with the Braves. After joining the club in August, Urshela batted .265/.287/.424 with four home runs, 15 RBI, and a 95 OPS+ across 136 plate appearances in 36 games. That marked his best stretch of baseball since his tenure with the Minnesota Twins in 2022 which saw him post a 115 OPS+.
Defensively, the veteran tallied four outs above average overall in 2024 per Baseball Savant, falling in the 86th percentile of Major League Baseball. That was another metric saved by his time in Atlanta, as he accrued five outs above average at third base in the short stint with his new team. He finished the year with three outs above average overall at the hot corner between the two clubs, ranking 15th among all third basemen.
While Urshela may not be with the Braves in 2025 as he is a free agent this winter, he did prove to the Major League Baseball world that he is still capable of being a viable option at the hot corner for a contending team.
