The Pirates and catcher Yasmani Grandal are in agreement on a contract, per reporter Francys Romero. Robert Murray of FanSided reported earlier this evening that the sides were in “serious talks” regarding a deal. Per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the deal guarantees Grandal $2.5MM and includes incentives, with MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf noting the contract is a one-year deal.
Grandal, 35, was a first-round pick by the Reds 2010 draft and quickly rose to become a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport ahead of his debut with the Padres back in 2012. Grandal hit an impressive .297/.394/.469 over 60 games during his rookie campaign in San Diego, though he missed much of the following season after being suspended for 50 games due to violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Upon being traded to the Dodgers ahead of the 2015 season, Grandal established himself as one of the league’s premiere two-way catchers as he combined above-average offense with strong defensive metrics.
During a seven-year period from 2015 to 2021, Grandal slashed an impressive .239/.357/.461 while playing for the Dodgers, Brewers, and White Sox. That slash line was good for a 122 wRC+ that was surpassed only by Will Smith and Mitch Garver among catchers during that stretch. Meanwhile, his +56 Defensive Runs Saved ranked fourth in the majors during that time, trailing only Roberto Perez, Austin Hedges, and Buster Posey. Grandal combined that two-way talent with impeccable durability, with only J.T. Realmuto and Yadier Molina appearing in more games behind the plate than Grandal over that seven-year period. In that time frame, Grandal appeared behind the plate in 693 games, or more than two thirds of his club’s regular season contests.
Fantastic as Grandal was during his peak, the veteran began to decline rapidly upon entering his mid-thirties. Over his final two seasons in Chicago, Grandal slashed just .219/.305/.306 with a well-below average wRC+ of 74. While he maintained a solid 10.4% walk rate in that time, his power production cratered as he posted an ISO of just .087, a figure that pales in comparison to the career .211 figure he boasted entering the 2022 campaign. Father time has also been unkind to Grandal’s defensive skills. While Statcast’s Outs Above Average still grades him as a roughly average defender with plus framing metrics, his -16 DRS behind the plate is the fourth-worst figure in the majors over the past two seasons, ahead of only Elias Diaz, MJ Melendez, and Keibert Ruiz.
While Grandal’s decline over the past two seasons has been a steep one, the veteran backstop could still prove to be a valuable addition for a Pittsburgh team in search of a veteran presence behind the plate. The Pirates lost rookie catcher Endy Rodriguez to UCL surgery back in December. The 23-year-old youngster is expected to miss the entirety of the 2024 campaign, leaving backup catcher Jason Delay and catching-prospect-turned-outfielder Henry Davis as the club’s top internal options behind the plate. Delay owns a .233/.293/.311 slash line across 127 games in the majors, while Davis struggled to a .213/.302/.351 slash line during his first 255 trips to the plate in the big leagues last season.
The addition of Grandal figures to give the Pirates the opportunity to offer Davis, who has caught just two innings behind the plate last year and has started only 92 contests at the position throughout his entire professional career, more time to develop defensively behind the plate in the minor leagues should he require it. Alternatively, the club could look to pair Grandal with Davis at the big league level, providing Davis a veteran mentor as he goes through his first big league season as a regular backstop. Such an arrangement could involve the club carrying three catchers on its roster to open the season, though Delay has options remaining and could be utilized as depth at the Triple-A level.
Pittsburgh also signed 27-year-old catcher Ali Sanchez to a big league deal back in December. Sanchez has just seven games of big league experience, but sports a decent .275/.345/.402 slash line for his career at the Triple-A level and has a strong defensive reputation behind the plate. Sanchez is out of options, meaning the club will have to either carry him on their Opening Day roster or expose him to waivers. With Grandal, Davis, Delay, and Sanchez all set to enter camp with at least a shot at a big league role for the Pirates entering the season, the club has successfully addressed its big league caliber catching depth in the wake of Rodriguez’s injury.
Why do they need a C exactly?
Because they don’t trust that Davis can play the position well and he will need a veteran to help him mature into a catcher
He will never catch more than 15 games in a season, at most. It’s just never going to happen. No matter how much Ben wants to say it.
Shelton doesn’t set the lineup, Cherington does and if he wants Davis to catch, Davis will catch
That’s capitalism for you, tacky ads everywhere
Perhaps baseball should make the Yankee’s and Dodgers pay the slotted signing bonus for the #1 overall pick. That way, teams like the Pirates won’t have to waste the selection drafting guys like Davis, and getting them to agree to a discount.
@very Barry sad thing is, Davis was drafted to sign guys like Bubba Chandler, Lonnie White Jr, and Solomanto. All 3 are in top 100 in the prospect rankings. It was the draft following 2020 and when college and high school didn’t play baseball. The Pirates drafted quantity in 2021
For $30 a year, I don’t even know what that is.
Especially this clubhouse cancer. Seems like a not a great guy for this roster.
For an announcer?
Yuck. I was happy they didn’t sign Gary Sanchez, now I wish they had.
They need a backup who you normally wouldn’t mind starting 100 games.
Between Ali, Yasmani, Jason and Henry they should have one decent starter and a decent backup.
As someone who has watched Grandal play the past four seasons, my condolences to Pirates fans. Rodriquez in a wheelchair would be a better option.
Gary Sanchez in a wheelchair, even.
An empty wheelchair
Except that I don’t see them carrying 3 catchers once the season starts
Someone is going to Indy and it won’t be Davis
Because even though they didn’t improve the rotation or lineup, they still don’t want to develop Davis!
Davis has two innings as a catcher under his belt. You can want to develop him, and also want to have a much more experienced catcher.
How many games during spring training are there?
I am quite certain he will get more experience behind the plate during that time
So what was the point of drafting a catcher at number one?
Signability. His bat. His ability to turn into an OF. There’s at least 3 reasons for ya.
Davis has 250 career PAs and his backup has like 350 career PAs entering his age 29 season. Not to mention Davis always had lousy defensive chops and wouldn’t be messing around with C at this point if Endy wasn’t hurt. Pirates need some insurance there, even if it’s low grade.
Davis is 24, not 29
@theman I was talking about Delay being close to 29. The point being the backup C is often more of a vet player with a good glove. He’s one of those things unless we count MiLB service as being a vet (I do not)
Delay his as well as Rivas did last year and because they were 2nd to last in runs scored in the NL, he needs to go to Indy, and he also has options left
Yeah it says davis has 250, “and his backup” then goes on to explain the backups Pa and age, so pretty clear
the descriptor “lousy” is pushing the bounds on one I would call his catching. Not good is probably better description.
His arm and game calling are great. His pop times and blocking not so much. Someone said he shown noticeable improvement in those two as well going back to his last year at college. Assuming that is true he could be good enough as long as he is hitting. He hasn’t done that yet though.
His arm is great?
Yes, his arm is great – that’s why the Bucs were patient with him playing right field and the aversion of playing him at first
oh yeah it is a gun. If he stays in the OF I wouldn’t be surprised if he throws out a good number of runners.
Other wise he’d probably be on first.
Anthony Solometo, Lonnie White, and Bubba Chandler.
lol dude yes. All 3 are first round talents and only signed because Henry Davis was way under slot. Solomento and Bubba held their own in AA at 20. Lonnie about to be a top 100 prospect and probably the most athletic person in the organization outside of Cruz.
Harper was a catcher……at #1
Neil Walker was drafted as a catcher and instead played his MLB career at 2nd base
Bryce Harper when drafted was announced as an outfielder.
Then there’s the Kyle Schwarber behind the plate thing.
Grandal is awful and completely done. Years ago the Dodgers couldn’t play him in the playoffs because he couldn’t block pitches. Probably the worst defensive catcher and he can’t hit anymore .
Yeah I don’t know where his great “defensive metrics” come from. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a less consistent ball handler behind the plate. He flubbed so many plays with the Dodgers they had him running ball handling drills in the bullpen before games, and I know this not because it was ever reported but because I was there to see it.
@roob. Dang I remember that. He was horrible, I couldn’t believe my eyes watching his defense in that series.
Ever heard of Bryce Harper?
Signabilty so that they can get some talent deeper in the draft by offering more $$$. It actually may have worked. Too early to say for sure.
Draft on talent and signability alone. Never based on need. You can always trade for need.
The Pirates don’t have a great trade history…that’s for sure.
Seems like it’s been all downhill since they got VanSlyke
Neither Ben Cherington or Neal Huntington were Syd Thrift capable GMs. @Tiredolddude
Thrift knew how to make trades that benefited the Bucs though I will give Huntington credit for trading for AJ Burnett
@ybc
also you draft the best player in mlb because most kids take about 4 years to hit the bigs, and a lot can change in that time. plus because you were drafted at position X doesn’t mean your going to stat position x.
Henry Davis is actually listed as a right fielder on the roster
That is so scary having watched him play last year.
It was an idea, worth a shot, but he’s not a RF. If not C, then 1B? Otherwise a full time DH.
I just don’t know if his bat is good enough to be a full time DH.
Davis played 18 games in the outfield in the minors and zero in college. He basically had spring training to learn the position. After an offseason working on routes and reading fly balls off of bats I’m sure he will be significantly better. Probably still not good defensively but I’d expect him to be adequate this season when you factor in his arm.
Remember 18 games is plenty enough development time. One thing Davis showed in RF was a potential plus arm. As he gets more comfortable out there he has the instincts and athleticism to develop more and more there. But he had his 18 game trail in the minors and a rookie year and didn’t turn into Clemente so it’s over for him.
That might be true if he spent the off season learning to play RF, however he supposedly spent that time working on his catching skills. I question whether he can ever be a catcher in the majors, however I agree he could an adequate job in right. He is supposedly a hard worker so repetition could make him a serviceable outfielder.
I’m sure he’s spent the offseason working on both catching and playing RF. Even if his focus this offseason is primarily on catching he would be foolish not to shag fly balls a couple times a week.
exactly, kwolf68, people think that if a player doesn’t develop immediately at his new position, he’s incapable of getting better
The right field wall at PNC Park is difficult to play when the ball bounces off of it.
Connor Joe, the regular right fielder misplayed a few balls last year but no one here is saying anything about that and his regular position is outfield
It’s a learning experience for Davis at outfield as well as it is at catcher
Might be a Grandeal.
Cutch will get most of the time being DH
Jesus Christ just acquire a damn pitcher who’s better than a fifth starter!!!!!
Their best shot at that is Bauer. Who’s willing to go down that path?
I’d sign Bauer.
They told Bauer no when the agents approached the Pirates.
I hadn’t heard this but would love to know the reasoning. Not that I think Bauer would lead them to the promised land but he’s an upgrade over anything they have and I have to think that given his circumstances, he could be had for a reasonable contract
@tiredolddude
imo the reason no one in the mlb wants trevor is because he is a pr nightmare and an alleged a hole to everyone. he has basically hit the point in his career like ray rice where his age and skill don’t outweigh the baggage that comes with it. people may have “forgotten” about trevor for now because he’s overseas and nothing is being said about his off field issues, but as soon as he signs with an mlb team everyone will quickly remember.
The story is on pittsburghbaseballnow regarding Bauer. The Pirates should have given Bauer a chance and span it off on how everyone deserves second chances and Pittsburgh is the city to do it in. No foresight on the marketing.
@tiredolddude
The reasoning: Nutting has 3 daughters
He sold them.
As the price goes down, BC will sign Ryu or Lorenzen. The off season signings and trades show that they are already punting on 2024. Late this year and next, the young pitching will arrive as well as getting back a couple of guys.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’ll be outbid on both. Clevinger. Syndergaard. Keuchel. I think these are the kinds of reclamation projects that appeal to BC and won’t clog up the rotation if any of the young guns or surgically repaired are really available mid summer
Solve the rotation holes first. Bad call signing Grandal if you are 2 pitchers short of an actual rotation.
Maybe signing a veteran catcher will help attract a pitcher to Pittsburgh. This isn’t a video game. You can’t force players to sign whenever you wish.
As much as I enjoy my time at PNC, and it pains me to admit it, but the Pirates come across as the team you sign with on prove it contracts and when you’re just trying to find a job in the league. And there’s a good chance you’ll be flipped at the deadline.
Hopefully they pull an Orioles where free agents view Pittsburgh as the place where they can be the final veteran piece around a good young core.
Might be a good year to rent a kayak during a game at PNC. There’s an astronomical amount of strikeouts but also a ton of lefty power with Cruz, Suwinski, Tellez and Grandal on the roster.
Pitchers and Catchers report on Thursday, so they need to make a lot of moves very quickly.
Rosters aren’t finalized until opening day and then, they continue to churn all season. Contreras needs another chance before cutting bait or moving him to the bullpen. Plenty of rookies will see the rotation this year. Why block them with a 10M washed pitcher like Rich Hill?
I’d say starting the year with no SP depth is a massive mistake. Why sign a guy like Ryu? Because he is better than Marco Gonzales, I guess? How will Brubaker come back? Will Skenes be ready this year? Does Preister suck as much as he sucked last year? Statcast seems to think so. Contreras would be my pick for 4th starter, as the rotation sits today, but they MUST sign another SP, unless this is another bridge year. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched the Pirates for over 30 years… They have all been bridge years for the past 30, excluding the 2013-2015 run.
PittPirate22: Signing Grandal will have pitchers running away from Pittsburgh. Worst C I’ve seen in my life. If official scorers weren’t so afraid of calling a WP a PB, Grandal would be the all-time record holder. He cost the Sox more runs against than I can count by his inability to block pitches.
avenger
“If official scorers weren’t so afraid of calling a WP a PB, Grandal would be the all-time record holder. ”
Similarly, if all his Strikeouts were recorded has home runs, he’d be the all time record holder.
No idea why Mike Clevenger isn’t linked to the Buccos
Or Lorenzen
Kinda similar to skenes.
My favorite gland.
They better get another starter soon
And during the Super bowl
It has to be serious
Can we please get a new owner or just move the Pirates to Nashville! Absolute torture watching endless lies of taking the next step!
Pick a new team?
Reds are looking pretty interesting.
White Sox fans would be happy to trade owners with you.
I was born into this team but damn this ownership sucks! They did nothing to improve!
This was a bad idea.
You mean the guy that hot busted for PEDs?
Terrible signing! Whoever we release has more value! Has to be Akilla
Might wait for the 4 roster spots open up.
While I get why they were hesitant to bring in a big time starting pitcher or two —with numerous young guns on the cusp and 3 guys coming back from major surgery by mid season—-they’ve spent millions on retreads and a closer they really didn’t need
I honestly can’t remember a worse off season.
I can, like in 2018-2019 when they didn’t sign one player to a Major League contract, or in 2021-2022 when the only thing of note they did was trade Jacob Stallings.
The difference is that there wasn’t much in the way of expectations for improvement, mlb1225.
Here’s a team that had a decent second half, are on the precipice of home grown players finally—finally—making a dent at the mlb level, and you augment it all with the signing of a 1st baseman who looked pathetic last year, a closer being added to a team that given their wins total only needs one who is already arguably one of MLB’s best…and this guy?
Like I said above, I get their thinking about starting pitchers, although I may not agree with it. But who are they kidding with these signings? Why throw away cash?
You’re right about 21-22. But don’t you see the irony of this off season and Cherington’s comments about competing and Reynolds talking about the playoffs?
I think if enough goes right, they could do it. There’s very clearly no favorite in the NLC right now. Not saying it’s likely, but I think if they can tread water until mid-season and get Skenes and Jones up here to reinforce the rotation, with Mike Burrows and JT Brubaker also returning. Time will tell, but I for one am optimistic.
Yea it has been so disappointing because they told us that they were going to improve! They just lie constantly and people believe their BS!
A+ off season.
I know you don’t believe that!
I really thought this team was going to go after bigger fish this offseason.
I don’t hate Chapman, Perez, or Olivares but the rest of the offseason hurts. Gonzalez is a depth starter. Tellez should be a DH and if he doesn’t hit for power he’s useless.
Really thought they’d add a more reliable SP or two. Regressed at 1B. Grandal is old and I know everyone will say he will help Davis but he will replace Davis. Sánchez will play and Davis will be getting moved around instead of developing him! If you’re not going for it then play Davis and Peguero and see what you got!
This team missed out on the NL Central being wide open! If we improve it will be because Cruz is healthy and hopefully young pitching develops. Maybe Roansy bounces back. Our rotation on paper is so bad!
Still some SP out there. 1b as well. D if they don’t get another starter. Gonzales might be a number 4. Even a 5 is good. If healthy. Probably should sign a 1b.
They signed Tellez. They’re not going to do anything else down there. Between him and Joe or Triolo, they think they have the answer
They’re in trouble, pitching wise. I have to think they’re going to go with Ortiz and Priester to round this staff out, and that’s not gonna be pretty
A lot of people here saying they can compete in the Central. The idea is that Milwaukee is weaker without Burnes, the Cubs weaker without Bellinger and the Reds didn’t do enough this off season
But all of those teams have better young talent and if nothing else, the Cardinals upgraded their starting pitching
Joe was second to only Suwinski in called third strikes in baseball, meaning neither really knows the strike zone
And Joe’s defense at first base will make fans wish they had signed Santana
TheMan3, I’m in complete agreement with you, of course. I have this feeling that a lot of fans only see highlight reels, where these guys are hitting homers. It’s hard to watch these at bats, game in and game out
I hope Suwinski found a good hitting instructor this off season. Yeah, he has some power but the strikeouts and poor at bats that are too common with runners on base necessitate a great need for refinement
Taking called third strikes is a result of a passive approach toward hitting that a batting coach would teach.
A bad batting coach.
The bullpen will be among the best in baseball. Cruz, Davis, and Suwinski bring more power in the lineup than they’ve had in years. Enjoy watching Ke’Bryan at third base, don’t take what he does there for granted. Hopefully Cruz stays healthy at SS and second base becomes a two player battle between Peguero and Gonzales with Bae on the bench. This team isn’t very good but it’s not 95-100 loss bad either.
Sanchez and Delay were all that was necessary. Bins was also available if you want Grandal production. This move is Austin Hedges 2.0, Michael Perez 2.0, Chris Stewart 2.0.
Per FG DC projections
Grandal 93 wRC+, 1.7 WAR/450
Delay 65 wRC+, 1.3 WAR/450
Rodriguez 93 wRC+, 2.1 WAR/450
Don’t bring logic here. People here are mad for signing a veteran catcher to help a young catcher and a young rotation. It doesn’t matter that the contract is a minimal and it cost no prospects.
The pain and anguish!
I don’t mind the signing. Solid back-up for Davis to help him ease into catcher.
Bet Davis doesn’t catch that much now! You have 3 MLB catchers and Davis!
Always someone who defends everything Nutting does!
Delay has options remaining, so he’ll probably go to Triple-A. I don’t think Ali Sanchez is safe, even though he signed a Major League deal. Davis has been working out behind the plate this offseason, so hopefully he can play okay.
Dream always says the draft class wasn’t much in Davis’s year, hence him going number 1. But it’s incredibly hard to believe they knew he was so defensively deficient and still chose him there.
You know, if it’s the Dodgers, Braves, Astros etc, they can afford to make such mistakes. You’d think the Pirates would be more careful
He looked a lot better at Triple-A this year, especially at blocking before he was promoted and moved to RF. We shall see how he can do next year.
It doesn’t matter what position he plays if he hits. I think its more likely that Davis would have a longer and more successful career if he stopped catching altogether and just focused on RF/1B and DH.
I would agree if he was just a DH. However having to learn a position (even catching) at the major league level will take so much time, he won’t be able to concentrate on hitting. I think that and the fact he was hurt some last year caused his hitting to fail to develop. They need to stop moving this guy around. and since I don’t think he can catch they are going to waste another year of development..
Agreed, Norm. I dunno. Seems like a young player can easily get down on himself by what he perceives. Moving him around, the wide array of lineup slots and the very idea that they didn’t catch the kid at all last year has to shake the confidence
I get it. There’s a reason they didn’t put him back there. I just think the Pirates player development department is on a par with its scouting department when it comes to being completely inept
@IndyNorm I agree they should stop moving him around but I lean on the side of dropping catching and focusing on RF.
They’re not going to carry 3 catchers once the season starts
mlb1225: Just because someone played a long time and is past the end of his career doesn’t make him a good mentor. The only thing he can teach young Cs is how not to catch the ball and how to become totally inept at throwing out runners when he throws the ball at all.
I was saying that he can ease Davis into the catching role in the sense he won’t have to be the only catcher on the team.
They didn’t sign a veteran catcher. They signed someone who was once a C. Big difference. Sandy Leon would have been a step up, because he can catch.
stymeedone: A while back the cubs had a C who would box the ball. In other words, when the pitch hit his mitt he wouldn’t close his glove. The ball fell to the ground, allowing runners to advance. I’m pretty sure he was grandal’s mentor.
I don’t mind it either. They tried to talk Sanchez into signing but I guess he wanted more than $2.5 mil. I feel like Davis should learn to catch at AAA, not in Pgh. They can’t afford to put him back in the OF and don’t need him to DH with McCutchen and probably Tellez getting those ABs. Grandal was probably their last option to give Davis some more time.
I heard the Pirates and Sanchez had a tentative agreement in place. Idk what exactly made it fall through, but if I had to guess, it was the mutual option. Take that for what you will.
It’s starting to look like taking Davis #1 overall may have been a mistake. Way too early to call him a bust, but next season will be a big year for him. The bat was excellent in the minors but hasn’t translated to MLB yet. It definitely seems like Endy Rodriguez is their catcher of the future at this point. He’s clearly the superior defender. 2024 will be a bridge year for the Pirates, so they can afford to shuffle Davis around a bit to see where he fits best defensively. It seems like 1B may end up as a better fit than the OF for him.
Yeah, signing a veteran catcher who’s had a solid career to mentor a young staff and catcher is a clear sign that Davis is a bust.
I said “it’s way too early to call him a bust” and that next season will be an important year for him to establish himself as a big league talent. Both of those things are true.
Solomento, Bubba and Lonnie White my guy. That’s all we can hope for as far as validation for Henry Davis at 1/1
That’s a good point, too. Drafting Davis allowed them to grab those three, and they all look very promising.
Allowed them to take Bubba. The other 2 could have been drafted with a non Davis.
I’m hoping Solometo proves me wrong and can ascend to being the pitcher some think he is. To me, he’s Jeff Locke 2.0. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I just don’t see him as being one of the young guns
Chandler is a different story. In a perfect world, having him on a staff with Skenes and perhaps Jones—perhaps—looks very promising
Right back into contention with this and the El Chapo signing.
Pirates aren’t doing sht anyway….
Wont be saying that after they sign El Chapo.
@kentucky
is that before or after you break him out of adx florence?
El Chapo Matt Chapman
i know it was my poor attempt at a joke.
Good Lord Almighty… Pirates fans would complain in heaven.
It’s a veteran catcher to a minimal contract to mentor a young rotation and a catcher who has no real MLB experience behind the plate.
Relax or take a pill. The whining over this signing is juvenile
My god dude take a break you defended Nutting enough tonight! You’re part of the problem and the reason that this city settled for being the worst organization in all of sports!
You on everybody’s comment! They can have an opinion
You need to grow up or shut up. Not all opinions are equal. Your opinion, for example. is irrational and symbolic of a sniveling child. We are not the same.
I haven’t mentioned or referenced ownership. Nutting isn’t the GM. Do you not realize what the role of a GM? I’d love Nutting to spend more money. That, however, would be moronic for a backup catcher, as the team is trying to develop Davis behind the plate.
If you hate the team and Nutting so badly, go root for the Cubs or Cards. No one will miss you.
Yea you know so much that you don’t realize that GM is an extension of Bob Nutting! He tells him exactly what he expects and how much he can spend! Why you see zero Starting Pitching that is worth taking about in UFA!
Also 80% of Pirates fans feel the same way I do! Why you think you’re replying to all of them? Maybe it’s your opinion that isn’t equal!
I root for the team so mind your business but I can also realize that nothing changes with Bob Nutting as an Owner! Some fans are just super gullible!
Having players who slap teammates aren’t who you want to mentor young players. The Will Smith who won three straight World Series is not the Fresh Prince.
I didn’t say I knew “so much”. I just said your fandom and opinions are trash. You confirm this with every post. It’s pretty astounding that you view yourself as the mouthpiece of 80% of the entire fanbase.
All you do is whine like a petulant child every time the Pirates make a move. The Pirates aren’t the Padres, Braves or Dodgers. The team isn’t going to spend like mad on free agents. That isn’t a winning formula for a small market team. The Pirates are a year away from really contending, which will come with Skenes is the ace of our staff.
Moaning over signing a veteran backup catcher is just ignorance.
Have some expectations! This organization constantly said they will improve as we get closer to competing! The owner and GM! Both said multi year starting pitching this offseason!
It’s ok to be disappointed in a 35 year old catcher that is fading fast. I loved the Chapman signing because he can still help! I like Olivares because he’s an improvement! Look if a veteran catcher is going to help a young player then you had Austin Hedges last year and Davis should’ve worked with him instead of RF!
Btw I think the Pirates with Cruz back and an addition of a couple SP could’ve competed this offseason in a bad Central division! Then Skenes and Jones showing up mid season!
If you have expectations then I seriously question if you’re a Pirates fan. Hopes, dreams, wishes sure but expectations is too strong.
If I may interject. First of all, the Pirates are nowhere near the worst organization, at least in MLB. That honor goes to the White Sox and I’ll defend to the death anyone who says otherwise. I know the Pirates have some holes, but so do the Dodgers. At least they’re making an effort (Grandal not withstanding) to improve. You guys know more about the Pirates than I do, but try to look at whatever positives you have. O’Neill Cruz coming back, Cutch coming back, etc.
@avenger65
idk about that cws has some good competition, the a’s, angels, and rockies would like to throw there hat in. i get where your coming from the cws owner is pretty bad.
Can you really blame them tho? Seriously.
just a few years too late on this signing.
He is just a couple years back from being a positive contribute with the bat.
Davis should get the bulk of the playing time through spring to see if he can handle regular duties ‘good enough’ that his bat can carry. If not I’d expect to see him in AAA for a little bit and Yasmani and Ali carry the bulk for a month or five.
I legit didn’t even realize he played last season.
Yikes. What a bust signing. Interested in Gary Sanchez and settle for Grandal? Yuck.
Must cheaper that is why. Always the first consideration with the present owner.
Sanchez signed for 7 million. Grandal 2.5 for a backup catcher.
Yeah, yuck
Yes, yuck. I am not worried about saving money on a team that doesn’t spend money to begin with. I was hoping for a Sanchez signing the moment I heard Endy was out for season. Sanchez came to SD last year and handled the staff well and slugged over .500. Grandal is what almost 5 years older and hasn’t had a decent season since 2021.
This is another Rod Barajas type of deal that won’t move any needle at all.
Indigestion.
Lol. Grandal before TA7!
Is he being considered a backup? Davis is projected to create 1.7 WAR while Delay will create 0.6. Probably best to send Delay down on an option to the minors and let Davis develop under the mentorship of Grandal.
Yeah, the problem is that Hedges was a solid defensive catcher. And he was the ultimate team player here. Grandal is neither. But yeah, I get your point
Pirates fans booed Hedges mercilessly at home. His defense and leadership was not appreciated by the fan base. That said, he couldn’t hit sand if he fell off a camel.
Yeah. He was no hitter. And yes, the fan base was on him. But I’m struck by people talking about Grandal being some sort of mentor here.
Defensively, it’ll be like the blind leading the blind. And offensively, he’s not much better.
More than anything else, having him and Chapman in the same clubhouse of young players should be a real hoot
Pirates collecting more deadline trade chips.
Or just allowing these guys to make their travel and lodging arrangements to one of the Asian leagues. Pittsburgh seems to be the last stops for a lot of guys
? Sad! Headscratcher to me.
The Pirates are a time machine to 2015 away from being a contender.
It seems.
As a part time DH I assume is what they’re looking for from Grandal. Watched plenty of him with the White Sox, dude is terrible at catching, or calling games. He’s also got a bad habit of catcher’s interference, so good luck Pittsburgh…
My first thought was that he’s probably gonna catch 60-70 games, DH about 10-15 and be insurance for Tellez either getting hurt, just being terrible or working out and being flipped at the deadline. There’s nothing to be excited about signing Grandal but it adds some depth at a reasonable price.
Can’t hit or catch and is a known ahole, great mentor!
I am hoping that this signing drags on into the middle of this week so they do not have to designate anyone.This contract may have been agreed upon previously.
Hopefully,the same can be said for a couple of decent starting pitchers to be signed who can also take the place of the 60-day IL placements then.
It’s amazing to me that this guy is getting a contract. He is horrible with pitchers, can’t throw and can’t hit and terrible in the clubhouse, besides that he’s a peach of a guy.
Yeah, he declined quickly, alright. As soon as he stopped juicing his power was gone, and his body kind of fell apart. And I hear he had a bad attitude last year. It’s one thing to get angry over losing 100 games. I get that, and I would expect nothing less from any competitor. However, behind the scenes, he was blaming everyone but himself.
A+ last minute break glass we need a catcher signing. Oh hey I heard of this guy. Cheap solid bat catcher. I like it.
2.5 million is 2.5 million more than Grandal was worth his last 2 years with the Sox. Who paid him 36M for those 2 years, btw.
Good. Once they sign El Chapo they will be right back in contention
World Series type of move.
Grandal was so good in 2020 and 2021. What happened to him? Was it just playing in that dysfunctional organization on the South Side?
Another $2.5 mill wasted. Grandal is done.
Maybe it’s time we sign a Grandel who does play with an attitude,, we have a roster of alot of nice guys. If he has a decent first half and we’re not on contention always can trade him for another prospect.
Trading for prospects, the Pirates mantra
The Buccos sure love stocking up on guys who were good 5 years ago.
I see a couple more signings .
It’s fun reading this forum when someone signs a 2nd string veteran catcher for a paltry low value short term deal. This is a nothing burger move, not any reason to get your pants in a bunch. Grandal will be given a look to see if he can handle part time catching duties. If he catches lightning in a bottle then he helps the Pirates or could be a deadline trade chip. If he continues his demise into the nether regions of baseball lore the Pirates can bench or DFA him. Don’t lose sleep over this move. Geeze.
Henry Davis needs a mentor to teach him to be an everyday big league catcher. It’s definitely not a nothing burger. It’s also not a celebration move either.
Love it. I hope Henry Davis clings to him like a sponge. He needs someone to teach him how to be an everyday big league catcher. Will be a great trade chip if another teams starting catcher goes down.
Waste of time and money….they need to get another starter
Solid signing, should be an adequate backup and good mentor for Davis. Delay can go to Indy since he has options remaining, so the Pirates should have solid depth at Catcher.
Ali Sanchez would have to go through waivers, but he did sign a deal that had a minor league salary (I believe $106k) and an MLB salary, so it appears it was never a guarantee that he’d make the team. If they keep three catchers he’ll be the third one, but he’s probably headed to Indy as well if there isn’t an injury.
I actually like the depth a lot and would rather have guys in my system take under his wing than Sanchez. Boggles my mind how he conned Milwaukee out of damn near ten million. While the pirates absolutely fill a need at a very reasonable and respectable price tag.
This line made me wretch:
“During a seven-year period from 2015 to 2021, Grandal slashed AN IMPRESSIVE .239/.357/.461 . . .” (Emphasis added.)
OMG! The standards by which we judge talent would be COMICAL if it weren’t so PATHETIC!
Here’s what “IMPRESSIVE” really looks like for those of you who have been blinded by the newer, sometimes BS stats:
* Buster Posey, career slash: .302/.372/.460.
* Yogi Berra, career slash: .285/.348/.482.
* Mike Piazza, career slash: .308/.377/.545.
* Bill Dickey, career slash: .313/.382/.486.
* Joe Mauer, career slash: .306/.388/.439.
* Pudge Rodriguez, career slash: .296/.334/.464.
* Johnny Bench: 1972 slash .270/.379/.541.
Note: 1972 was Bench’s last full-season before undergoing surgery for a spot on his lung; he was )understandably never close to 100%, thereafter.
The importance of batting average has been Grossly Minimized in today’s analysis, which is absurd because the more hits you get, the more runners you knock in or move from one base to the next base.
One example: a BB, which looks good on OBP, NEVER scores a run from 3rd (unless the bases are loaded), but a single ALWAYS does. So, are they equally valuable? NO!
Another example: a BB with a man on 2nd, NEVER moves the runner to 3rd (unless 1b is occupied), but a single VIRTUALLY ALWAYS does. So, are they equally valuable? NO!
And I’m tired of stats like OPS+ LYING to us & saying a Piece of Garbage like Joey Gallo is 9% Better than the Average ML Player for his career, despite Striking Out in 44.9% of his ABs & despite his career BA of .197.
Heck, according to OPS+, Gallo was 1% Better than the Average ML Player in 2023 when he hit .177 and Struck Out in — ready for this? — 50.4% of his ABs. THAT’S 1% Better?!! Wow!
It’s time for a panel of HALL OF FAME PLAYERS — who actually KNOWN the difference between BAD, GOOD & GREAT — to THROW OUT BS STATS LIKE OPS+.
Do you think someone like GEORGE BRETT would say a .177 BA with a 50.4% K-rate was Good or Acceptable?
Spoiler Alert: Brett would vomit before he could say something that *%#@ing Stupid!
I wasn’t aware he got suspended for PEDs