The Chicago White Sox need these three players to avoid another awful season
By Todd Welter
Yasmani Grandal worked hard in the offseason.
Grandal did not play well last season. That is being kind to say the least.
He was a -1.4 bWAR player. Injuries limited him to just 99 games.
He probably should have not played in those 99 games as it was clear injuries were affecting his play.
He hit a career-low .202 in 2022. Even when he struggled to hit in the past, Grandal was still known for drawing walks. He had a .420 on-base percentage in 2021. That percentage cratered to .301 last season.
He could not hit, he could not walk, and he was not that good in the field. With a team on a self-imposed salary cap, a player making $18 million and not producing is a waste of precious financial resources.
At least he held himself accountable.
Yasmani worked hard in the offseason in hopes of bouncing back this season. He worked with Chicago Blackhawks head strength and conditioning coach, Paul Goodman.
Grandal is back to being healthy. That, along with the shift ban, should assist Yasmani in getting back to being a productive hitter.
Grandal is a great pitch-framing catcher, but he is subpar at everything else defensively. He did put in the work this off-season to improve as an overall backstop.
Talked to Yasmani Grandal about his defensive tweaks, aimed at improving blocking while taking stress off his legs. And how taking heat off his legs behind the plate, leads to more strength offensively.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) March 26, 2023
“I’m gonna have to get used to the bat drops again.” https://t.co/ISiMQsAQpW
Fangraphs projects Grandal will have a much better 2023 season. It would be nice to have Grandal bounce back especially with Jose Abreu no longer with the team. The White Sox needs to get contributions from various bats to make up for losing Abreu’s production. Getting Grandal back would go a long way toward achieving that goal.