
Photo by Ian D'Andrea
Yasmani Grandal
While the window is slowly closing on MLB free agency, one of the market’s available bounce-back candidates is a player who experienced significant success in Milwaukee.
Longtime major league catcher Yasmani Grandal had one of the best seasons of a productive MLB career during his brief stay in Milwaukee in 2019 when he played in 153 games, batted .246 with a .380 on-base and .468 slugging and was an All Star for the second time in his career. He also graded highly as a defender behind the plate, and FanGraphs estimates he was the 17th most valuable player in all of baseball during that season.
Grandal turned that big season into a big contract, signing a four-year, $73 million dollar deal with a White Sox organization that most analysts did not realize was getting ready to trend extremely far in the wrong direction. Grandal was still a very good player for the first two years of that deal but struggled mightily in 2022 and 2023, both seasons where he graded out below replacement level.
If anything, however, it might be unfair to label Grandal as a “bounce back candidate” because he already started to bounce back in 2024. Grandal appeared in 72 games for the Pirates last season and his overall numbers are weighed down by a slow start but from August on he looked like the Grandal of old, hitting .311 with a .440 on-base and .554 slugging in his final 24 games.
The Brewers, of course, would not need Grandal to serve as a primary catcher. William Contreras is locked into that role after an All Star and MVP candidate season in 2024. Contreras caught a lot in 2024, however, finishing sixth in the majors with 120 games behind the plate. It makes sense that players who catch a lot will wear down as the season goes along, but Contreras defied the trend and hit better in August last season than any other month. Gary Sanchez, Contreras’ primary backup, caught in just 28 games.
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Veteran Catcher, Defensive Load
Having a veteran catcher who is capable of carrying more of the defensive load than Sanchez did a year ago would give the Brewers significantly more opportunities to get Contreras a break if he needs it. Even when he’s not needed behind the plate, however, the Brewers would likely have a spot in the lineup for Grandal more often than not. The Steamer projection model (listed at FanGraphs) projects Grandal to post a .702 on-base plus slugging and .310 weighted on-base average in 2025. Those aren’t sparkling numbers, but on a Brewers team that’s light on corner production that might be enough to put him in consideration for a few starts a week as the first baseman or designated hitter. At most points in MLB history signing a veteran catcher with the intention of playing him at first base would have been a significant offensive setback but, as noted earlier this winter, production at the position across the sport has decreased dramatically over the last decade.
The Brewers have already made one move to shore up their catching corps this offseason, signing former Phillies and Marlins backstop Jorge Alfaro to a minor league deal. Alfaro hasn’t played in the majors since 2023 (when he logged just 18 MLB games with the Rockies and Red Sox), missed the entire 2024 season and has been active in winter ball in the Dominican Republic, but has yet to catch a game there this offseason. There’s certainly a possibility he could be a solid backup for the Brewers, but it’s hardly a given at this point.
The Brewers are in a good position in that they don’t need to use free agency to find a short or long-term answer at the catching position, as William Contreras is one of the best in baseball at that spot and top prospect Jeferson Quero is lurking behind him in the upper minors. They could still use an upgrade at the backup spot and a bench bat that can help elsewhere, however, and Yasmani Grandal is a player who has experienced success in Milwaukee before.