The 2025 MLB season has been a rocky ride for the Boston Red Sox, who are entering Thursday's action with a 30-34 record, good for fourth place in the AL East. The up-and-down nature of the campaign has forced the Red Sox to make various call-ups, hoping that in-house reinforcements will help them turn things around.
While several names have gotten a chance to be promoted from the minors to the Majors, one veteran who hasn't is catcher Yasmani Grandal. Boston signed the well-traveled backstop to a minor-league contract back in April, after Connor Wong hit the injured list, however, an opportunity to play with the big-league club has yet to materialize.
Without a promotion in sight, it sounds like the 36-year-old bet might consider calling it a career.
Red Sox C Yasmani Grandal Is Reportedly Considering Retirement
On Wednesday, Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy told MassLive's Katie Morrison-O'Day that Grandal "is weighing retirement."
"At the moment, it looks like he’s probably going to walk away and potentially hang them up," Tracey revealed after it was announced that Grandal was taking time away from Worcester. "We talked (Monday), and I knew he was going to pack up and go... His response was, ‘It’s time to be dad.'"
Family should always come first, so no one should fault Grandal for wanting to take care of his fatherly duties. His potential retirement could also stem from the fact that he's turning 37 years old and is unlikely to play an MLB game this season, barring a serious injury.
Before stepping away from the WooSox, Grandal was slashing .256/.372/.397 with two home runs, 16 RBIs, and 13 walks in 25 appearances (78 at-bats) in Triple-A. It was far from the worst performance, but still not good enough to warrant a call-up with the way Wong and Carlos Narvaez have been playing for Boston.
Assuming it's the end of his baseball career, Grandal will go down as one of the best catchers of the last two decades. The former 2010 first-rounder is a two-time MLB All-Star who's amassed 194 HRs, 592 RBIs, 679 walks, and a .236/.345/.769 slash line in 1,307 outings (4,138 ABs) across 13 seasons. Although he never won a championship ring, he did play in back-to-back World Series with the L.A. Dodgers (2017-18).
Grandal's signing didn't work out with the Red Sox, but there's nothing wrong with that. Boston rolled the dice on a former All-Star, and this time it didn't pay off. Nothing significant was lost by the experiment, and now the front office can find a new player to fill the potential retiree's roster spot.
In the meantime, Red Sox fans wish Grandal nothing but the best in his future, even if he didn't leave the biggest mark on the franchise.