Struggling on the biggest stage
It is not very clear how much MLB GMs care about playoff performance, but if they do, there probably isn’t anyone who hurt his stock as much as former Dodgers’ catcher Yasmani Grandal.
On the surface, Grandal is one of baseball’s most valuable assets. In his career, he is a 17 percent better than average on offense based on wRC+, which is especially valuable for a player at the offensively-barren position of catcher. On top of that, Grandal is among the best pitcher-framers in baseball, as Baseball Prospectus has rated him 136.8 runs-above-average in his young career.
A catcher with well above-average skills in offense and defense would seem to be a $100 million player, but MLB Trade Rumors only projects him to make $64 million over four years. Part of that may be due to his performance in the playoffs, when Grandal got a ton of bad press for his poor defense.
There is certainly more to defense than pitch framing, so teams may have legitimate gripes about Grandal’s defense, but it does still seem like he’s overlooked despite being one of the most valuable players in the game. If Grandal can sign a one-year deal, it’s possible that he can improve his stock and get a larger contract next season.
Nevertheless, Grandal is entering his age-30 season, so he might want to cash in now before he begins his decline, and it’s also worth noting that Grandal turned down the $17.9 million qualifying offer from the Dodgers. Still, he is the kind of player who could greatly improve his value after a one-year deal for 2019.