Cuban star Lourdes Gurriel Jr. next in Astros' sights

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The Astros aren’t done chasing another Gurriel.

The club has Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in its sights to join new signing and older brother Yulieski.

Lourdes Jr. is a 22-year-old infielder/outfield who’s garnering just as much, if not more, attention than his older brother from MLB teams as a free agent.

RELATED: Astros introduce coveted signee Yulieski Gurriel

The brothers defected from Cuba in February. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said at Saturday’s news conference introducing Yulieski that having Lourdes join the team is very much a part of the plans.

And Yulieski, 32, wouldn’t have it any other way. The two grew up playing together so having his younger brother in Houston would only make the deal sweeter.

“It’d be great for my brother to be here so I wouldn’t have to do this alone,” Yulieski said. “I know that my brother has extraordinary talent and I’d love to have him here.”

The brothers are represented by the same agent, Adam Katz, who expects to go through the same process he went through with Yulieski very soon. Lourdes Jr.’s debut may come much later than his older brother’s.

“He needs to get cleared by Major League Baseball so he can be part of this process,” Katz said of Lourdes Jr. “Then, we hope to showcase him in mid-August, late August when he’s ready. We’ll showcase him and then he should be ready to go maybe in October.”

After welcoming Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel to the fold, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow hopes to add his younger brother Lourdes Jr. as well. After welcoming Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel to the fold, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow hopes to add his younger brother Lourdes Jr. as well. Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Cuban star Lourdes Gurriel Jr. next in Astros' sights 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

The brothers come from a true baseball family, with their father Lourdes Sr. - in attendance Saturday - playing 15 years with the Cuban national team.

Yulieski and Lourdes Jr. have always been connected at the hip. Yulieski doesn’t want that to change.

“’We’ve always helped each other so much, it would actually be a great help to me to have him here as I’ve always had,” Yulieski said.