For the last four seasons, Yasmani Grandal of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been one of the best offensive catchers in baseball while also being known as one of the best pitch framers.
The ending of the 2018 season was a bit sour for him though as he once again struggled in the postseason and wound up being replaced as the starter by Austin Barnes. The Dodgers ended up losing in the World Series for the second year, this time to the Boston Red Sox.
Grandal is now a free agent for the first time, looking to secure a long-term contract. He had an opportunity to stay with the Dodgers for one more year on the $17.8 million qualifying offer, but he opted for free agency instead by declining.
As he gets set to begin contract negotiations with clubs, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that Grandal has switched agencies:
Free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal will now be represented by Adam Katz of the Wasserman Media Group. Latest player to leave the Legacy Agency.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 21, 2018
The latest reports on the Dodgers indicate that they are unlikely to re-sign Grandal, so he will need to find that long-term contract elsewhere. An anonymous executive still believes that he will sign a lucrative deal though given how poor catchers performed across the board last season.
Los Angeles has two top catching prospects in Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith, so they will be looking for a one or two year stopgap at catcher until they are Major League ready.
They have also been linked to Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, but if they want to go that route then they would need to give up a lot on the trade market to acquire him.
