He has previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series (CNS), the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He also helped lead the club to American League (AL) pennants over the New York Yankees in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Boston Red Sox in 2021.

[5][6] Gurriel had a solid season during the 2004–05 Cuban National Series (CNS), leading the league in hits and runs scored.

[10] In February 2016, Gurriel and his then-22-year-old brother, Lourdes Jr., defected after competing in the Caribbean Series in the Dominican Republic,[11] and relocated to Haiti to establish residency.

[14] Nearly 10 years prior, ESPN.com had erroneously reported that Gurriel and another Cuban national player, Eduardo Paret, had defected from Cuba and into Colombia.

[15] Gurriel refuted this claim on August 1, 2006, stating that he returned to his home in Cuba immediately after the tournament in which the Cuban national team had been playing.

After playing in four games for Lancaster, the Astros promoted Gurriel to the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League.

[20] He batted 2-for-17 (.118) in five games for Corpus Christi, and was promoted to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.

Other cumulative totals included 564 plate appearances, 43 doubles, 18 home runs, 75 RBI, 22 bases on balls, and 62 strikeouts.

[28] The Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) named him the Astros Rookie of the Year.

Gurriel was caught on camera stretching the sides of his eyes and mouthing the Spanish word chinito, which translates to "little Chinese Boy".

[29][30] Gurriel apologized, and said that anyone from Asia is called a chino in Cuba, although he acknowledged that he knew the term was offensive from having played in Japan.

He hit .403 (56-for-139) with runners in scoring position (RISP), the second-highest average in the major leagues behind Joe Mauer (.407, 22-for-81).

[39] In a 14–3 romp over the Colorado Rockies on August 7, Gurriel homered and tied J. R. Towles with eight RBIs for the club record in one game.

At age 35, Gurriel became the oldest player in Astros history to produce 40+ doubles, 30+ HR and 100+ RBI in one season, surpassing Jeff Bagwell's age-33 campaign in 2001.

[37] In Game 7 of the 2019 World Series versus the Washington Nationals, Gurriel hit a second inning solo home run off Max Scherzer to give the Astros a 1–0 lead.

[41] In the final game of the 2021 regular season, Gurriel hit a walk-off single to score Jason Castro and defeat the Oakland Athletics.

In the World Series, Gurriel batted .273 with no home runs and two RBIs as the Astros lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games.

[50] On May 17, Gurriel hit the final of five Astros home runs in the second inning versus starter Nathan Eovaldi of the Boston Red Sox, tying the major league record for home runs hit by a team in one inning as the Astros rolled to a 13–4 victory.

[53] On August 11 versus the Texas Rangers, Gurriel broke an 0-for-12 slump with three hits to tie his season high.

[61] The Houston Chronicle ranked Gurriel as the fourth-best first baseman in Astros history through the 2022 season among those who played there more for the club than any other position, following Bagwell, Bob Watson, Glenn Davis and ahead of Lee May.

[65] On April 25, 2023, Gurriel recorded an inside-the-park home run off Atlanta Braves reliever Jesse Chavez after the ball got away from Kevin Pillar in the outfield.

[66] The Houston Astros presented Gurriel his 2022 World Series ring during a pregame ceremony at LoanDepot Park on August 16, 2023, with former teammates Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Martín Maldonado, Justin Verlander, and manager Dusty Baker.

He helped the national team win a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as well as at the World Cup of Baseball championships in 2003 and 2005.

Gurriel played second base for the Cuban national team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC),[1] striking out for the final out for Cuba in their championship game loss to Japan.

In December 2023, Gurriel was announced as part of FEPCUBE's "Patria y Vida" team of expatriate Cuban ballplayers participating in the inaugural Intercontinental Series in Barranquilla, Colombia.

[75] It would have been the first time Gurriel represented Cuba, albeit unofficially, in an international tournament since the 2011 Pan American Games.