Chicago White Sox Reportedly Prepared to Deal Yasmani Grandal at Trade Deadline
The Chicago White Sox will "give away" catcher Yasmani Grandal before Tuesday's MLB trade deadline, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
Grandal is in the final year of a four-year, $73 million contract, making him a free agent at the end of this season. The former All-Star is hitting .251 with eight home runs, 29 RBI, a .699 OPS and a -0.1 WAR.
At 43-64, the White Sox have been far removed from playoff contention for most of the summer. Chicago's front office committed to being sellers when it traded starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, then cemented their role in the market by dealing starting pitcher Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly to the Los Angeles Dodgers and reliever Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros on Friday.
Nightengale also reported that the White Sox would listen to offers for shortstop Tim Anderson, and that they would be willing to trade reliever Keynan Middleton. Starting pitcher Dylan Cease and reliever Aaron Bummer, however, are reportedly off limits.
Giolito, Lopez and Middleton are set to become free agents this winter, while Lynn, Kelly and Anderson have team options. Graveman has one year left on his deal.
With a handful of those veterans already out the door, Grandal is the highest-paid player remaining on the White Sox's payroll.
Grandal was the Cincinnati Reds' first round pick back in the 2010 MLB Draft, although he and several other prospects were dealt to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Mat Latos in 2011. The Padres held onto Grandal until he became a regular starting catcher in 2014, at which point he was flipped to the Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Matt Kemp.
In his first of four seasons with the Dodgers, Grandal was named an All-Star, and he earned a handful of NL MVP votes the following year. Grandal signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019, earning another All-Star nod and finishing 15th in the MVP race before signing with the White Sox.
Injuries prevented Grandal from cracking 100 games in each of his first three seasons in Chicago, but he has played 87 out of 107 so far in 2023.
Grandal, who is currently the third-highest-paid catcher in baseball, turns 35 years old in November. For his career, Grandal has 185 home runs, 171 doubles, 561 RBI, a .238 batting average, a .779 OPS and a 20.2 WAR.
The White Sox have until 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday to trade Grandal.
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