BOSTON — The Red Sox signed two-time former All-Star Yasmani Grandal to a minor league deal in April in an effort to add some catching depth after then-starter Connor Wong went down with a broken finger. Nearly two months later, it appears the 36-year-old Grandal is calling it a career.
Grandal left the WooSox between their road series at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the opening game of a homestand at Polar Park on Worcester on Tuesday and explained to the staff that he was likely retiring after not getting called up to the majors during his time in the organization. On Wednesday, the Red Sox officially placed him on the restricted list.
A source indicated that the Red Sox expect Grandal to retire, as WooSox manager Chad Tracy said a day earlier. June 1 represents a common opt-out/upward mobility date around baseball for veteran players on minor league deals and it’s possible Grandal made the decision to hang up his cleats once it became clear, once again, that the Red Sox wouldn’t be calling him up.
“At the moment, it looks like he’s probably going to walk away and potentially hang them up,” Tracy told MassLive’s Katie Morrison-O’Day on Tuesday. “We talked (Monday), and I knew he was gonna pack up and go…his response was ‘it’s time to be dad.’”
Grandal remained unsigned all winter and didn’t go to spring training with a club after appearing in 72 games with the Pirates in 2024, his 13th big league season. He officially signed with Boston on April 13 after Blake Sabol was called up to join Carlos Narváez in a temporary big league tandem with Wong hurt. In 23 games for Worcester, Grandal hit .256 with two homers, 16 RBIs and a .770 OPS.
On May 1, Grandal — enjoying his time in the organization — decided not to exercise an opt-out in his contract and remained with Worcester despite not having a path to a big league opportunity with Wong returning earlier than expected. In the majors, the Red Sox are set with Narváez assuming the starting role and Wong, who has experience as the starter, serving as his backup.
In Triple-A, at present, the Red Sox are light on catching depth with Grandal out of the picture and Sabol in limbo after being designated for assignment Sunday. If Sabol clears waivers, he will return to the mix as a non-40-man roster player. But for now, Worcester has just Seby Zavala, Nathan Hickey and 21-year-old Enderso Lira on the roster.
Tracy said Grandal made an impact with the WooSox.
“He didn’t isolate himself, he was right in the middle of everything teaching young guys,” Tracy said. “It was great.”
