The celebrated catcher may be the most accomplished catcher in the Red Sox organization right now, but his arrival in Boston comes with no guarantees. The veteran backstop, known for his strong career résumé and years of MLB experience, signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox last week — a classic “prove-it” situation for the 36-year-old.
The move came in response to starting catcher Connor Wong landing on the injured list with a fractured finger. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game against the White Sox, Red Sox manager Alex Cora addressed the signing and what it means — or doesn’t mean — for the team moving forward.
“He’s a veteran presence,” Cora said, via MassLive. “He gives you professional at-bats, he knows how to handle a pitching staff, and he’s solid defensively. But right now, it’s just about seeing what we’ve got. It doesn’t impact the other guys at the moment. He needs to get some playing time in Triple-A, and we’ll go from there. We’ve had him on our radar for a while — it just happened to line up now because of the injury. There are no promises.”
And that’s the key: expectations are being kept in check. Yasmani Grandal hasn’t played all year after going unsigned through the offseason and spring training. At his age, and after a down year at the plate in 2023, it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank. He’ll need to shake off the rust quickly — his contract includes a May 1 opt-out clause if he hasn’t been added to the major league roster by then.
Still, don’t rule out the possibility of Grandal joining the big league club sooner rather than later. Wong’s injury, initially given a 10-day timetable, could easily require a longer recovery period. Meanwhile, Boston’s catching depth is razor-thin, and the team lacks other experienced options at the position.
For now, Grandal heads to Triple-A Worcester to get back into game shape. If he performs well — and the Red Sox’s catching situation doesn’t improve — a call-up could be inevitable. Whether that leads to a meaningful role or just a short-term stopgap remains to be seen, but for a team battling through injuries, Grandal offers something they desperately need: a steady hand behind the plate and a wealth of big league experience.
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