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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Yasmani Grandal is not expected to become a free agent Thursday, when he is eligible to opt out of his minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, according to a new report.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports the two-time All-Star catcher plans to stay put at Triple-A Worcester despite a clause in his minor league contract that allowed him to opt out on May 1.
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Grandal, 36, has played seven games with Boston's top farm team. He is slashing .250/.379/.500 with one home run, five RBIs, five walks, and five stolen bases in 29 plate appearances.
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In 13 seasons at the major league level (2012-24), Grandal has a .236 batting average, .345 on-base percentage and .424 slugging percentage with the San Diego Padres (2012-14), Los Angeles Dodgers (2015-18), Milwaukee Brewers (2019), Chicago White Sox (2020-23) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2024).
Boston was not the only team to offer Grandal a contract coming into the season. According to Francys Romero, he turned down an offer from the Atlanta Braves and was willing to retire rather than sign a minor league deal.
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Although Grandal seems to be acclimating well to Triple-A pitching at Worcester, his primary value to teams will go beyond his batting statistics.
Grandal has long been regarded as a strong pitch-framing catcher. No catcher has been credited with more framing runs since Statcast began tracking the metric than Grandal (103); Buster Posey is a distant second with 66.
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Despite limited playing time with the Pirates last season, Grandal was credited with six framing runs, tied for eighth in MLB. Although he slashed .228/.304/.400 last season, major league catchers slashed only .234/.299/.380 as a whole in 2024, putting Grandal no worse than league-average at his position as a 35-year-old.
A switch-hitter, Grandal is six years removed from the last of his two All-Star appearances (2015, 2019). He has 194 home runs and 592 RBIs in his career.
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The potential for playing time in Boston arose when the Red Sox's primary catcher, Connor Wong, fractured his left pinkie finger April 7. Wong could return from the injured list as soon as this weekend, and the timing hasn't lined up for Grandal to be promoted from Worcester to this point.
For that reason, few would have been surprised if Grandal had exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and become a free agent. Cotillo reports that the Red Sox "would be amenable to granting Grandal his release at any time if the right opportunity presented itself with another club in the majors."
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