According to reporter Francys Romero, the Braves made an offer to free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal “about a month ago.” Needless to say, Grandal, who remains unsigned, turned down the proposed deal. The terms of Atlanta’s offer were not included in Romero’s report.
Grandal, 36, is the top catcher remaining on the free agent market. Depending on how teams view James McCann and Yan Gomes, Grandal is arguably the only unsigned catcher capable of filling more than a backup role. During his best years, he was widely considered one of the top catchers in the sport. His performance dropped off significantly in 2022 and ’23, but he rebounded with the Pirates in 2024. His offensive numbers were slightly above average for a catcher in nearly every category, while his top-notch pitch framing numbers made him a valuable defender behind the dish. He finished the season with 1.4 FanGraphs WAR in 72 games played.
Up until recently, one might have thought the Braves were set at catcher. Sean Murphy is entering the third year of his six-year, $73MM contract extension, and the Braves surely want him to play as much as possible. While he had a down year in 2024, he is only one year removed from an All-Star season in 2023. In addition, the consensus top prospect in Atlanta’s system is catcher Drake Baldwin. Soon to be 24, Baldwin excelled at Triple-A last year and has continued to excel this spring. He looks ready to make his MLB debut. It’s hard to imagine how Grandal would have fit into the mix.
However, things changed last week when the Braves announced that Murphy would miss four to six weeks with a cracked rib cage. That makes Baldwin the likely Opening Day starter. All of a sudden, the youngster is facing far more pressure to succeed right away. Thus, if the Braves had any interest in Grandal last month, one would think that interest would only be greater now that Murphy is set to miss extended time. Indeed, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported a few days ago that the Braves were “considering” Grandal and McCann.
From Grandal’s perspective, signing with the Braves might now seem more appealing than it did last month. He would have a clear path to regular playing time (or at least a split role with Baldwin) while Murphy is on the shelf. That might only be for a couple of weeks, but even so, it would give Grandal a chance to prove he still deserves a major league opportunity, whether in Atlanta or somewhere else. The Braves are the only team known to have expressed interest in Grandal this winter, but perhaps another club could look to acquire him if he gets a big league gig and plays well.
Romero notes that Grandal is hoping to continue his playing career, though he could consider retirement if the right deal doesn’t come together. The 36-year-old has enjoyed a highly successful 13-year tenure in Major League Baseball with the Padres, Dodgers, Brewers, White Sox, and Pirates. At his peak, he was a well-above-average offensive catcher, putting up an .807 OPS and a 121 wRC+ over his first 10 seasons. However, his most valuable tool has always been his glove. In particular, Grandal is widely considered one of the most talented pitch framers of his generation. According to FanGraphs, he has racked up 152.0 framing runs throughout his career, easily the most among active catchers. Austin Hedges ranks second with 89.3. If Grandal chooses to hang up his catching gear, he will certainly have a strong career to look back on.
What a dope. A catcher as bad as grandal should’ve signed with anyone dumb enough to offer him a contract.
Might have been minor league. Or 1m. Why rush to sign that.
Right, not everyone wants to play at all costs. The guy has made money in the league. He may say make it worth my while.
I’d sign for a million.
Rush? There’s less than 3 weeks until opening day. There’s a reason why he still isn’t signed anywhere else.
At the time, Grandal would have been #5 in the depth chart behind Murphy, Tromp, Baldwin and Leon. It makes sense why he declined what was a 100% sure minor league deal.
Jagoff
Hehehe
Braves W
That being said, no reason to make an offer to Grandal to catch at all.
Rec x 1000000
Grandal was perfectly serviceable last year. Was it a dead cat bounce coming off 2 horrible seasons toiling away for the hapless White Sox? Maybe. But for teams like the Braves and especially the Mets he’s worth bringing in if the alternatives are Sandy Leon, Chadwick Tromp, Jakson Reetz, and Luis Torrens who have combined to provide a whopping 1 total season as valuable as Grandal’s season last year. He’s worth a big league deal at this point.
Ah yes, the dope who just put out 1.4 WAR in less than half a season’s worth of games is such a bad player. I get he’s old and declining from his peak form, but he just showed he can still produce solid results at the major league level. I think the Braves seriously low-balled an offer, and/or didn’t give him a clear idea of how much playing time he would get if he signed.
I’m sure he wants a guaranteed ML deal whereas with the Braves he would have to beat out 2 other guys just to make the roster. Chadwick Tromp is likely better, younger, cheaper, & knows all the pitchers. A guy like Grandal will wait for the sure money even if that means April.
Tromp beat out Grandal? Unless Grandal is backed by the Democratic Party, he’d easily beat out Tromp.
Pitch framing is like stealing votes…
Pitch framing is Grandals greatest selling point at this point in his career
Or demanding a governor to “find vote”.
Pitch framing is one of the more useless statistics. How about all the PB and the WP he should’ve saved, a lot of which should’ve been PB.
Especially if they go to computer umps. Framing will be a thing of the past.
avenger65, Grandal was 2 blocks above average last season, and ranked 16th best overall in actual PB+WP, according to Statcast.
People remember that one postseason when Grandal let so many pitches get by him. But even aside from the framing he’s mostly been decent behind the plate in his career.
PB meaning peanut butter? Imagine how much PB we’d all save by switching to sunflower butter? It’s like having gieco or something
So many bad catchers around, if Grandal wants to play, he should simply lower his asking price
Whats his asking price?
If I was in his position I’d hold out for a better offer too. He’s 36 and has had a long and successful career already. Why risk breaking down your body even further at age 36 if the best offer you get is a minor league contract and oh by the way you have to beat out 3 other guys in spring training just to maybe make the team? He just recently showed he can still produce in the big leagues, even if it’s for only half the games.
He’s a lazy bum anyways. The Braves should be very, very happy.
Thank God. Hopefully this doesn’t mean the Braves are gonna be cheap and start Baldwin in AAA.
Pitch framing. Soon to be an irrelevant art.
Will be challenge system so only very slightly less important.
Grandal is grawful.
Yasmani sucks and is old…hope he remains unsigned
I believe he just didn’t want to have to wear the Braves Sleeve Patch..because when he runs out a ground ball, it’s like he’s running in QuiKrete!
This indicates that Grandal is aware of the shifting dynamics in the league and is waiting for an opportunity that aligns with his desire for significant playing time. Teams facing sudden vacancies behind the plate may now view Grandal as a valuable asset, potentially leading to more favorable contract discussions for him.
This is all my fault, I’m sorry folks. I’m not sure how this was leaked but yes, it is true. My softball team – The Braves, did in fact offer him an opportunity, but he declined. It was a sad day. 😉
He was great for the Dodgers! They probably moved on at the right time.
Good news for Braves fans. Grandal is in decline and has not been good for several years. I would rather see Tromp or Baldwin get playing time.
Missed opportunity of leaking this 3 weeks ago
Has any catcher stood out to be Yankees back up? McCann could be a cheap option
Can Rene Rivera still catch and throw ?
Would-be Braves teammates are all sighing with relief upon hearing this news.
I think that hes going to be a Met by the end of the month
How fortuitous! Mets starting catcher Francisco Alvarez just broke his hamate bone and is expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks. Let the Grandal bidding war commence!
The article doesn’t say the terms, but my guess is the Braves offered him a minor league deal. They have been pretty heavy on those types of deals this offseason. And if I’m him, that deal would be tough to take but he also has to remember he was on the pirates last year and he’s aging. To be a part of a contending team at this point of his career in any capacity is about as good as it gets. Otherwise he’s one of the few vets looking to play full time with any team regardless of how good or bad they are. If that’s the case, he might as well go back to the Sox.
He was solid at the major league level last year even though it was only for 70ish games, I bet a few contending/on the bubble teams could use that production at catcher, just not the Braves because they’re already loaded up at the position. My theory is that he’s probably thinking about retiring. He’s 36, made his bajillion dollars already, his body is breaking down from the grind of being a catcher his entire career (from little league up until now), has a family to raise, etc. Going to Atlanta just to fight for the backup job seems like a waste of time for him imo
Now that he has a clearer path to regular playing time, they should make him a major league offer and see if he’ll accept now.
No mention of Chadwick Tromp?
He has been a very capable fill-in the last couple seasons. He was one of the best third-stringers in the league, from what I could tell. He is a sufficient fill-in until Murphy returns. And even when Murphy comes back, Trump ought to be the backup. That way Baldwin gets every day reps in AAA.