GLENDALE, Ariz. — Yasmani Grandal says he hears it all the time now: “People say, ‘It looks great; how are you feeling?’ ’’
Grandal doesn’t want to say he feels healthy. He much prefers “normal,” which is where the White Sox catcher is at three weeks into spring training coming off a rough year physically.
It feels different, Grandal said. His knee and back problems sapped the oomph from his swing and hindered his mobility behind the plate last season. The 34-year-old switch-hitter whose offense was a key component to the Sox’ American League Central-winning season in 2021 — when he slugged 23 home runs in 93 games — is 5-for-14, including a double and a right-handed home run, in seven Cactus League games.
There have been hard-hit outs, too. And while it’s a small sample and only spring training, initial indications seem favorable.
“I lost a lot of that feel last year, not being able to consistently barrel the ball,” Grandal told the Sun-Times. “And now, since I’m consistently barreling it, it’s almost new because it’s been about a year since doing that, right?”
Right. Grandal batted .201 with only 12 extra-base hits in 376 plate appearances last season, not the payoff the Sox expected when they signed him to a four-year, $73 million deal before the 2020 season.
It didn’t sit well.
“I have really high standards for what I should be doing and how I should be doing certain things,” Grandal said. “I’m hard on myself when it comes to doing those things.”
When he signed, Grandal’s contract was the richest in franchise history, justified by his pitch-framing skill and offense.
Grandal said this is the first Sox camp for which he built a plan and was able to stick with it, handling a full workload.
“The biggest part about spring training is getting the reps in,” he said.
Manager Pedro Grifol is counting on Grandal to catch a lot this season. He caught 32 games in the abbreviated 2020 season, 80 in 2021 and 71 in 2022, not the bang for the buck the front office was looking for from a two-time All-Star who appeared in 140 games for the Dodgers in 2018 and 150 in 2019 for the Brewers, the latter a contract year.
He caught 135 and 137 games in 2018 and 2019, the kind of lifting the Sox are counting on in 2023.
“I mean, he’s the catcher,” Grifol said. “That’s what he worked for in the offseason. So communication is the key with Grandal. If he feels good and he checks all the boxes from our sports-performance team and our trainers and everybody, he’s catching.”
The backup is Seby Zavala, who caught 58 games, batted .270/.347/.382 and developed good rapport with Sox pitchers while ranking 20th in blocking among 66 catchers, according to Statcast. Grandal ranked 64th in blocking, and while blocking was never a strength, not being healthy probably factored into it last season.
“The fact that I’m able to move through the bottom while I’m catching, being agile back there, being strong, having my legs underneath me, it’s going to allow me to do many things behind the plate,” Grandal said. “Whether it’s blocking, receiving or throwing, whatever it is that I need to do. From that aspect of the game, it feels really good.”
Normal even?
That would be the best Grandal can ask for.
