After four seasons of Yasmani Grandal serving as the primary catcher, the Los Angeles Dodgers may very well see a proverbial changing of the guard behind the plate this winter. Grandal was among the players across the league to become a free agent after the World Series concluded.
Somewhat predictably, he was one of two players — the other Hyun-Jin Ryu — that the Dodgers extended the one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer to. Grandal and Ryu each have 10 days (until Monday, Nov. 12) to accept or reject the deal.
Should Grandal accept it, he would re-sign with the Dodgers for one year and presumably resume his full-time catching duties. If he rejects it, Grandal could still negotiate a contract with the Dodgers at different terms, or look to sign with another club.
In the meantime, the Dodgers reportedly are among the teams who have discussed a potential J.T. Realmuto trade with the Miami Marlins, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic:
One things for sure….#Marlins prepared to trade Realmuto and #Astros, #Nationals, #Braves, #Rays #Dodgers #Rockies have all touched base….Here is what a deal might look like:https://t.co/sHhVOpS1HF
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) November 7, 2018
At the end of October, Realmuto’s agent made it clear his client wished to be traded by the Marlins. Already downtrodden, the franchise began a rebuild last year with trades of Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna, among other deals.
On top of coming off an All-Star season, Realmuto remains under team control for multiple years and isn’t due to reach free agency until after the 2021 campaign. Prior to Realmuto’s trade request, the Marlins indicated they intended to sign the 27-year-old to a contract extension.
