The Boston Red Sox are working quickly to address their crisis at the catcher position.
Robert Murray of FanSided reported on Thursday that the Red Sox have agreed to terms with free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal. The 36-year-old Grandal will be getting a minor-league contract from Boston, Murray adds.
Grandal, a switch hitter, now heads to his sixth career MLB team. He enjoyed his strongest production on the Los Angeles Dodgers, making the NL All-Star team in 2015 and submitting multiple years of 20 home runs or more. Grandal then made another NL All-Star team as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019, slugging 28 home runs and 77 RBIs that year (both career highs).
But Grandal has tailed off in more recent years, especially last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2024 for the Pirates, Grandal hit .228 with nine homers and 27 RBIs over 72 games. Grandal has also never had the strongest reputation as a defensive catcher (though he has historically done well as a game-manager and as a pitch-framer).
That said, the Red Sox need the help behind the plate at the moment. Starting catcher Connor Wong just went on the injured list with a broken finger, and backups Carlos Narvaez and Blake Sabol do not have a whole lot of major-league reps at this point.
Grandal was most recently in the news for an altercation with a teammate during the 2023 season. But the Red Sox will be hoping for a more even temperament from Grandal as they try to improve on their 7-7 start to the year.
