MLB Rumors: Yasmani Grandal Could Sign For Rockies, White Sox Or Reds

Yasmani Grandal is the undisputed king of free agent catchers available this winter. He has slammed 20 or more home runs in each of his last four seasons including 28 in 2019, a season where he also walked 17.2 percent of the time.

His .246 batting average wasn’t the best in his position but his .38 on base percentage more than made up for that. All this means that Grandal is one of, if not the, best hitters at his position and catcher is a place where most teams get little to no offensive output.

Grandal is also a terrific defensive catcher. According to FanGraphs, the former Milwaukee Brewer was the second-best pitch framer in the big leagues, which is a valuable skill for a catcher. Which team will cough up the big bucks for Yasmani Grandal?

The Colorado Rockies seem a very good fit on paper. Chris Iannetta got cut by the club in August and his replacement, Tony Wolters, is more of a backup option at the major league level. Their disastrous 2019 campaign was also caused in part by poor pitching.

One great way to improve pitching is improve pitch framing, something that Yasmani Grandal can do very well. There is also, of course, the fact that Grandal’s bat would work wonders at the hitter-friendly Coors Field.

One potential stumbling block is the fact that the Rockies don’t have a ton of financial flexibility and so may not be able to offer mega money to Grandal.

The Chicago White Sox, meanwhile, aren’t hampered by payroll. They did sign Jose Abreu to a one-year $17.8 million qualifying offer but they don’t have many large contracts beyond that. What they do have is an average catcher.

James McCann did make the 2019 AL all-star team with his red-hot first half. However, he cooled significantly in the second half and hit below .235 from July 1 onwards. He also has a history of underperforming with a bat in his hands.

Just like with the Rockies, the White Sox also suffered from poor pitch framing in 2019. Adding Grandal would improve the club offensively and defensively and perhaps make them a playoff team overnight.

However, it is the Cincinnati Reds who look the most likely landing spot for Grandal. They say they are going to increase payroll this winter, aiming to vastly improving on their 75 wins from 2019. Don’t forget it was the Reds who drafted Grandal in 2010 before shipping him to San Diego, so they have had their eye on the player for a while.

Their current catcher is also underwhelming. Tucker Barnhart hit a combined .241 over the last two seasons and isn’t really known as a good defensive catcher. Just like with the other two clubs, adding Grandal would improve the Reds both with and without the bat.

Whoever it is that signs Yasmani Grandal will probably have to pay through the nose to do so. FanGraphs estimates that the catcher will get a three to four year contract worth a total of between $50 and $70 million.