How It Took Video Game Console, Dog For All-Star Catcher To Sign With Red Sox

Yasmani Grandal was at peace if his MLB career was over after 13 seasons.

The veteran catcher’s free agency stretched through spring training and into the beginning of the season, but he enjoyed spending the extended time with his family, including his two young sons.

Grandal was actually getting ready to take his seven-year-old son to his first baseball game when the Boston Red Sox came calling since they were in need of a catcher following an injury to Connor Wong.

It was an opportunity Grandal couldn’t pass up. But Grandal first had to negotiate with his sons, who had become used to having dad home, before he went off and signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

“I had to make a deal with the boys. I had to get them a PS5 and a dog by the time I got back,” Grandal said on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast.

After suiting up for five different teams in his career, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 36-year-old Grandal zeroed in on joining the Red Sox.

Grandal, who batted .228 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs in 72 games with the Pirates in 2024, said he spoke with the Red Sox in the offseason, but nothing materialized. Wong going down last Monday with a fractured pinky changed everything, though.

Grandal wasn’t even aware Wong hit the injured list but soon after, the Red Sox reached out to Grandal’s agent. And the Red Sox had one major factor working in their favor: they employ Jason Varitek as a game planning and run prevention coach.

“If there was an organization that I would have loved to come back and play for, it would have been this one,” Grandal said. “Just to hopefully get a chance to hear out Varitek pretty much. I’ve heard a bunch of things about him — how smart he is and how he thinks about the game. If I get the chance to be around that, that would be great. He was my favorite player growing up. That’s also a plus.”

Grandal reported to Triple-A Worcester upon signing and was with the team Sunday but wasn’t in the lineup.

His contract with the Red Sox is essentially a tryout since he reportedly has an opt-out clause for May 1. If Grandal shows well with Worcester, the Red Sox likely will have him take the place of Blake Sabol on the active roster and platoon with Carlos Narváez.

If that doesn’t happen, though, Grandal very well might be headed back home with a dog and video game console in hand.

“It’s all going to come down to how the body is feeling. That’s just plain and simple,” Grandal said. “I can’t get home and not be able to play with my kids. I’m going to give this a true shot, going to push myself to the limit and see how it goes. If it ends up happening that I’m able to somehow contribute with the major league team, obviously that’s the goal.”