Despite seeing him at arguably his worst, there's a reason the Brewers signed Yasmani Grandal
If you watched the Dodgers play the Brewers in the NLCS last fall, you may have walked away thinking, "Yasmani Grandal isn't very good at this baseball thing. Perhaps he should take up bowling or a trade." So, you may be scratching your head as to why Milwaukee is reportedly signing him to a one-year, $18.25 million contract. After all, if you showed up to a job interview and promptly slipped, fell and dented the CEO's car with your head, chances are you wouldn't get the job.
In all honesty, Grandal's NLCS was essentially the baseball version of that nightmare scenario. He was 2-for-11 at the plate with six strikeouts in the series, one of which came with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a one-run game. That's not a great look in front of your future bosses.
The catcher also made a number of glaring errors in the biggest moments. In Game 1 of the NLCS, he committed two errors and was charged with a passed ball ... in a single inning. Many Brewers fans are surely wondering how
But, we all have bad days at the office. And baseball, moreso than any other sport, requires us to look at a broader spectrum of evidence than a few bad days in October. After all, there are 162 games every season, and once you start there, Grandal -- ranked as the 12th-best free agent this offseason -- really shines.
Last year, Grandal hit 24 home runs. Only one other catcher,
If you like dingers, especially from a position that rarely features them, then Grandal is your Huckleberry.
But that's not Grandal's only skill. A strong game-caller and pitch-framer has led him to being ranked as the best defensive catcher in the game according to Baseball Prospectus' metrics.
Take that in for a second: One of the best power-hitting catchers in baseball is arguably an even better defender than
Over the last two years, the Brewers have shown a willingness to acquire talent to help them compete. This time last year, they added
They may not be done, either:
Looks like the Brewers aren't done. Marwin Gonzalez, Jed Lowrie, Wilmer Flores, Josh Harrison are among the FAs who have played second and third base. Mike Moustakas said he was open to trying 2B last year after the Brewers traded for him, but it never happened. https://t.co/EZIbugrSP3
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) January 10, 2019