"They’re really trying to win this year’s trade deadline" - Fans unsure about former All-Star Yasmani Grandal's reported $2,000,000 Pirates deal
Veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal and the Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly putting pen and paper to a one-year contract, according to a source for MLB.com's Alex Stumpf.
Earlier, Robert Murray of Fansided reported that both parties were trying to work out a deal.
The news was followed by fans taking a dig at the Pirates, who, according to them, will trade most of their offseason pieces by the trade deadline.
"Man they’re really trying to win this year’s trade deadline," one fan said.
Here are a few other fan reactions:
This isn't surprising since the Pirates caught a hit when their 23-year-old catcher, Endy Rodriguez, underwent Tommy John surgery, which will result in him missing most of the 2024 season. Other than Rodriguez, they had Jason Delay (28 years old) and 2021 first overall draft pick Henry Davis (24), who are relatively inexperienced in the MLB.
In 2023, Delay had 167 plate appearances, where he batted .251 and only one home run. As far as Davis is concerned, he had 225 at-bats, averaging .213 with an OBP of .302.
As for Grandal, he signed a four-year, $73 million contract with the Chicago White Sox in November 2019. Before that, he played with the San Diego Padres (2012–2014), Los Angeles Dodgers (2015-2018) and Milwaukee Brewers (2019) and has earned two All-Star selections.
Yasmani Grandal's production has taken a significant dip
The 35-year-old catcher was one of the best at his position in the first 10 seasons of his career. During that span (2012–21), he hit 172 home runs for a .807 OPS. Moreover, he had 72 defensive runs saved, placing him just behind Buster Posey, Yadier Molina and Roberto Pérez among all MLB catchers.
In his first 10 seasons, he hit .240 with 777 hits, 172 homers, 505 RBIs and 461 runs scored.
In the following two seasons (2022 and 2023), Yasmani Grandal's production took a significant dip, resulting in limited opportunities at the plate. In 2022, in 327 at-bats, he could only slash a batting line of .202/.301/.269. In 2023, in 363 at-bats, he slashed a batting line of .234/309/.339.