Former Padres Catcher Likely to Retire: Report

The end of the road might have arrived for former Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Grandal, 36, was reportedly placed on the restricted list by the Boston Red Sox's Triple-A affiliate on Tuesday. According to MassLive.com, Grandal "explained to the staff that he was likely retiring after not getting called up to the majors during his time in the organization."

Worcester Red Sox manager Chad Tracy told reporters, including Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, that Grandal told him "it's time to be dad."

“It was his choice. We talked yesterday … and his response was ‘It’s time to be dad.’”
— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) June 3, 2025

In Worcester, Grandal slashed .256/.372/.397 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 23 games. If no teams are willing to offer Grandal a major league contract, or none to his liking at least, he appears ready to walk away from a career that spanned 16 professional seasons.

In 13 major league seasons, Grandal played 1,307 games for the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Dodgers and Pirates since his 2012 debut. He hit 194 home runs, drove in 592 runs, and hit .236.

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Grandal reportedly contemplated retirement earlier this year. He turned down a contract offer from the Atlanta Braves in February before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox in April.

Grandal spent the 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a timeshare with Joey Bart and Henry Davis behind the plate.

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The Padres acquired Grandal from the Cincinnati Reds in a December 2011 trade with Yonder Alonso, Brad Boxberger and Edinson Volquez; Mat Latos was traded to the Reds in the deal.

Grandal made an immediate impression in San Diego, slashing .297/.394/.469 as a rookie in 2012. However, he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug after the season and was suspended 50 games for the 2013 season.

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In three seasons in San Diego (2012-14), the Havana native played 216 games. He slashed .245/.350/.412 (119 OPS+). He also displayed an early gift at framing pitches behind the plate. No catcher was credited with more framing runs after Statcast began tracking the metric than Grandal (103); Buster Posey is a distant second with 66.

Grandal enjoyed his best seasons with the Dodgers, averaging 5 Wins Above Replacement (per FanGraphs, which incorporates catcher framing into its WAR metric) per season from 2015-18. He made his first career All-Star team in Los Angeles in 2015, his first season after being acquired in a blockbuster Winter Meetings trade that sent Matt Kemp to the Padres.

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