We all love Yuli and are glad he will be back with the Astros next year. Let's take a balanced view and discuss where Yuli Gurriel really ranks among MLB first basemen.
Defense
How Yuli ranks among 1B (24 players) with more than 750 innings at 1B (more than half the innings) by multiple advanced fielding metrics
DRS- Defensive Runs Saved- 5- tied for 4th place
DEF- Defensive Runs Above Average- -10.6- 17th place
UZR- Ultimate Zone Rating- -0.1- 14th place
RZR- Revised Zone Rating- 0.820- 5th place
OOZ- Out of Zone plays- 37- 1st place
One can find data to support any position relative to Yuli defensively. My eyes tell me he is good.
Batting
Yuli Gurriel had a career year at age 37. Is it sustainable? In short No. His 2021 stats came with a very high degree of luck.
Here are some stats
Ave 0.319
OBP 0.383
SLG 0.462
OPS 0.846
wOBA 0.362
xwOBA 0.324
BABIP 0,336 (MLB average 0.292)
wRC+ 134
WAR 3.4
Projected 2022 stats
Ave 0.283
OBP 0.346
SLG 0.446
OPS 0.792
wOBA 0.341
wRC+ 115
Proj WAR 1.6 (Astros team 13th best projected WAR at 1B)
I think these numbers are far more likely for Gurriel in 2022- Good but not great.
Was he worth the $8MM team option executed today? Of Course, but don't expect him to repeat 2021.