The Boston Red Sox have signed free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal to a minor league contract, adding depth behind the plate following a rash of injuries.
Grandal is set to earn $1.35M if he is promoted to the MLB level, but for now will report to the club’s AAA affiliate in Worcester. His deal includes a provision where Grandal can opt out of the contract if he isn’t promoted to the Major Leagues by May 1st.
The 36 year old adds some much needed depth at catcher following Connor Wong’s placement on the 10-day injured list due to a fractured finger. In a corresponding move, the team promoted Blake Sabol to their MLB roster, but that still only left the team with 2 healthy catchers on both their 26 and 40 man rosters. With the other being rookie Carlos Narvaez, and Sabol only having 344 MLB at bats to his credit, Boston was in need of some veteran savvy behind the plate.
Grandal hit .228/.304/.400 with the Pirates last season, belting 9 home runs, and driving in 27 runs across 72 games. A 2x All-Star and All-MLB second team selection in 2019, Grandal has hit 20+ home runs in 5 seasons, with his best offensive year coming in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
A veteran of over 13 years at the MLB level, the native of Havana, Cuba will look to get back into form in Worcester alongside Seby Zavala and Enderso Lira over the next several weeks.
Photo: Ian D’Andrea. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.