The Los Angeles Dodgers catching unit is among the best in all of baseball as they have two capable starters in Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes. Grandal was recently ranked the fourth-best catcher in all of baseball by MLB Network’s The Shredder, while Barnes was not far behind him, coming in at No. 6.
Additionally, the Dodgers have two of the best catching prospects in all of baseball in Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith, so they seem to be set at that position for many years to come. Also in the mix, and with slightly more experience, is Kyle Farmer.
But one unquestioned aspect of the Dodgers front office is that they value depth at every position. As such, the team reportedly signed catcher Rocky Gale to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation:
Dodgers have a minor-league deal with catcher Rocky Gale, source tells SBN. Was released by Padres this week. He received an ML invite from LA.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) February 26, 2018
Gale was a 24th-round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Portland in 2010. He has spent a brief amount of time at the Major League level, doing so with the Padres in 2015 and 2017. Gale is 2-for-20 overall with a home run and two RBIs.
The 30-year-old spent a majority of the 2017 season with Triple-A El Paso, batting .278/.328/.365 with two home runs and 37 RBIs in 103 games.
Gale was designated for assignment by the Padres last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Eric Hosmer, whom the Padres inked to an eight-year, $144 million contract.
