The Pittsburgh Pirates reached an agreement this Sunday with Cuban catcher Yasmani Grandal, according to our colleague Francys Romero. The terms of the contract have not yet been disclosed, but there is talk of it being a one year deal. A few days ago the National League team also agreed to terms with the Cuban closer Aroldis Chapman for one year and 10.5 million dollars. Grandal is coming off a 4-year contract with the Chicago White Sox for 73 million dollars (18.25 per season).
At 35 years old, he continues to be a sought after commodity in the best baseball in the world. In recent seasons he has not been able to play full time due to several injuries; In 2023 he played 118 games, but in the previous two years he did not reach 100 games played (99 and 93). For the native of Güira de Melena in the Artemisa province, it will be his fifth team in Las Mayores, since debuting in 2012 with the San Diego Padres.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal signs a one-year deal with the @Pirates , terms at this time are undisclosed.#CubanBaseballDigest #MLB pic.twitter.com/vYzcd3WbBu
— Cuban Baseball Digest (@CBaseballDigest) February 12, 2024
Then he spent four games with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2015-2018), played in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers and the last four with the Chicago White Sox. The catcher participated in the 2015 and 2019 All-Star games, he is 15 home runs away from 200 in MLB, 72 hits away from 1,000 and 35 RBIs away from 600. With 655 walks he ranks as the fifth player born in Cuba after Minnie Miñoso (848), José Canseco (906), Tony Pérez (925) and Rafael Palmeiro (1,353) to reach that milestone.
The last two Cubans to play with the Pirates were Guillermo Heredia (2020) and Adeiny Hechavarría (2018), for Grandal it is an excellent opportunity, if he stays healthy he could be of great help for the National League team.