Is There a Team That Makes Sense for Yasmani Grandal?

Eventually, someone is going to realize Grandal is worth a gamble on a cheap one-year contract. Which team might that be?

Yasmani Grandal of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 22: Yasmani Grandal #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on August 22, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

With names like Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen, Carson Kelly, Travis d’Arnaud, and, most recently, Elias Díaz coming off the board, Yasmani Grandal is the only remaining free agent catcher who could theoretically take on a starting role in 2025.

While Grandal is 36 years old and no longer the All-Star-caliber player he was in his prime, the veteran backstop is coming off a resurgent campaign. After a pair of dismal seasons to close out his White Sox tenure, he bounced back with the Pirates in 2024.

In 72 games, Grandal produced a .704 OPS and 95 wRC+. For context, the average catcher had an OPS of .678 and a wRC+ of 91 in 2024.

Even better, he actually underperformed his Statcast expected metrics in every category. His .325 xwOBA would have ranked in the 60th percentile if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

Ad – content continues below

Perhaps most impressive was his 18.9% strikeout rate, the lowest strikeout rate he has posted since his first full season in 2014. And while his 9.9% walk rate looked low compared to his 13.9% career clip, it was still well above league average.

Grandal also hit 10 doubles and nine home runs, good for a .172 isolated power. Again, none of these numbers are going to knock your socks off, but they’re more than acceptable coming from a catcher.

That’s especially true when said catcher is a positive defensive contributor. While Grandal has gotten worse and worse at controlling the running game over the years, he remains an excellent receiver.

The metrics at FanGraphs, Baseball Savant, and Baseball Prospectus agree that he’s always been a strong pitch framer. They also suggest his framing was notably better in 2024 than it’s been in several years.

All in all, FanGraphs WAR tells us Grandal was approximately a 1.5-win player in just under half a season of games. On a per-game basis, he was one of the top 20 catchers in the sport.

Given his age, his recent injury history, and his poor performance from 2022-23, it would be fair for teams to have their reservations about Grandal. At the same time, few active catchers have more experience and a better track record.

Ad – content continues below

Eventually, someone is going to decide Grandal is worth the gamble on a one-year contract worth a few million dollars. Which team might that be?

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have one of the weakest catching setups among potential contenders.

Connor Wong had a nice breakout last year, but his ceiling isn’t particularly high, and the big gap between his wOBA and xwOBA suggests he’s due for some major regression. He’s also one of the worst pitch framers in the game.

What’s more, the Red Sox no longer have an heir apparent at the position after dealing top prospect Kyle Teel in the Garrett Crochet trade.

The switch-hitting Grandal could make a nice partner for the righty-batting Wong, offering manager Alex Cora a much stronger defensive option behind the dish.

The Red Sox might also like the fact that Grandal already has experience working with several of their pitchers; he caught Walker Buehler, Crochet, Lucas Giolito, Liam Hendriks, and Aroldis Chapman during his time with the Dodgers, White Sox, and Pirates.

Ad – content continues below

Miami Marlins

Nick Fortes has proven himself to be a phenomenal defensive catcher, but his bat would be unplayable on most teams. Over the past two seasons, he has a .570 OPS and 54 wRC+. Even in his worst season, Grandal was significantly more productive at the plate.

The only reason the Marlins might shy away from signing another catcher is if they’re particularly attached to their Rule 5 draft pick Liam Hicks. Then again, if they signed Grandal, they could potentially flip him for a lottery ticket at the trade deadline. Depending on how well Grandal plays in the first half, that prospect could very well be more promising than a Rule 5 pick.

More to the point, the Marlins supposedly have to add $20ish million to the payroll this offseason to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA. Yet, they have so far been almost completely silent in free agency. Signing a veteran catcher like Grandal to guide their inexperienced pitching staff would be a perfect way to spend some of that cash.

Washington Nationals

Keibert Ruiz is still relatively young (he’ll turn 27 in July), but his top prospect shine is fading fast. After a solid rookie campaign that earned him an eight-year contract extension, Ruiz has struggled in each of the past two seasons.

In 2023, the problem was his atrocious defense. Just about every metric agreed he was a major liability behind the plate. To his credit, however, he made big strides in 2024. His glove was still well below average, but it was playable.

Or at least it would have been if his bat hadn’t gone stone cold. His 71 wRC+ ranked last among NL batters (min. 400 PA), as did his 3.3% walk rate and .260 OBP. Even a diminished version of Grandal would be a nice upgrade for the Nationals in the defense and on-base departments.

Ad – content continues below

There’s no reason to think the Nationals are ready to give up on Ruiz – and nor should they. He was once a consensus top-100 prospect, and he’s under team control through 2030. With the Nats unlikely to contend until 2026, they have every incentive to give him another year to figure things out at the major league level.

That being said, Grandal would provide the team with some helpful insurance in case Ruiz continues to struggle. In a best-case scenario in which Ruiz finally lives up to his full potential, no one in Washington is going to complain about having Grandal around as a slightly overqualified backup.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays already have a capable starting catcher in Alejandro Kirk. His excellent defense gives him a high floor, while his offensive potential gives him an All-Star ceiling.

However, the Blue Jays have experience finding playing time for two starting-caliber catchers, having previously done so with Kirk and Danny Jansen for several years.

Indeed, Kirk has never caught more than 775.0 innings in a season. Considering an MLB team needs to fill roughly 1440 innings behind the plate every year, that leaves about 650-700 innings for another backstop. For what it’s worth, Grandal has averaged 605.2 innings per season over the past four years.

The Blue Jays have made it clear they still have money to spend this winter, and catcher is an area of need. Adding Grandal might not be the most exciting upgrade, but the difference between Grandal and an internal option like Tyler Heineman, Christian Bethancourt, or Ali Sánchez could be substantial.

Ad – content continues below