Soon after enduring the rigors of a 162-game regular-season schedule and five postseason games, a handful of Los Angeles Dodgers players were scheduled for surgery. The first two were Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner, with the catcher suffering from an ailing shoulder, and the third baseman a balky knee.
Kiké Hernandez was next to go under the knife, as his right shoulder was operated on last November. Grandal’s procedure was to repair the AC joint in his left (non-throwing) shoulder.
Fortunately for the 27-year-old catcher, the surgery did not include a labrum repair, which would have meant a longer recovery.
At the time of surgery, Grandal, like Hernandez and Turner, was projected to make a full recovery in time for Spring Training.
Grandal said last November he was ahead of schedule and without strength and mobility issues.
With position players expected to report at Camelback Ranch in less than one month, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Grandal was cleared to swing a bat, according to Andy McCullough’s of the LA Times:
Yasmani Grandal has been cleared to swing from both sides of the plate, Dave Roberts said.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) January 29, 2016
Grandal had a strong first half of the 2015 season with the Dodgers, batting .282/.401/.526 with 14 home runs, 36 RBIs and 42 walks. At the All-Star break he led all catchers with a .401 on-base percentage, .927 on-base plus slugging percentage, and was second with 14 home runs.
However, the shoulder injury had a significant impact on Grandal’s swing in the second half. Thus, there was a drop off in production as he hit a lowly .162/.280/.218 with two home runs, 11 RBIs, a .237 wOBA and 49 wRC+.
Included in the second-half struggles was an 0-for-36 slump at the end of August and into September. He finished the year batting .234/.353/.403 with 16 home runs, 47 RBIs, 92 strikeouts and 65 walks in 115 games.
