Yasmani Grandal using first base to regain strength

DENVER — Yasmani Grandal was not in the Padres’ starting lineup Sunday. Amid the elevation of Coors Field, he had caught nearly 12 full innings the night before.

Meanwhile, in the Padres’ series finale against the Rockies, Rene Rivera made his 70th start behind the plate this season.

Grandal, once the presumed No. 1 catcher, has started 63 games at the position.

The reasoning behind the unexpected division of duty can be viewed as twofold: One, Rivera has simply been too valuable a defender and game-caller while routinely catching the Padres’ top three starters. Two, Grandal is still working to regain full strength behind the plate.

Just 13 months ago, Grandal underwent reconstructive surgery on his right ACL. In order to lessen the stress on his knee and to keep his bat in the lineup, the Padres have given him 18 starts at first base this season. In 21 overall appearances there, he has committed three errors, for a .980 fielding percentage.

Seven of Grandal’s last nine starts have come 90 feet from the plate. Until this year, he had never played the position professionally, though he’d long been in the habit of taking grounders at first.

“There are a couple little things I need to work on obviously, but I feel pretty comfortable there,” said Grandal, who played first during his childhood. “I’ve definitely got to get better, but for now, I take it as it comes.”

Grandal said his agent called him earlier in the year to recommend finding a first-base glove.

“He was like, ‘Hey, you never know, they might put you at first at some point,” Grandal recalled. “I didn’t really think it was gonna happen. He said it might be a possibility since we started (the season) with three catchers. He said maybe if someone gets hurt or late in the game you might head down there. I was like, ‘All right.’”

From a health standpoint, the recent workload at first has helped.

With catching, Grandal said, “it got to a point when I went past the halfway mark this year, I was doing pretty good but by legs just started getting tired. That might’ve been one of the reasons I went to first a little bit more. So far, I’m happy with where I’m at. It’s just another stepping stone.”

Multiple times this season, Grandal has tweaked his batting stance, most notably standing straighter, to take pressure off his right knee. In 316 at-bats, he is hitting just .209 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs.

Given Rivera’s career year, next spring could feature an intriguing catching competition. The Padres could conceivably take an even longer look at Grandal as a first baseman, though the 25-year-old said he hopes to return to catching full-time in 2015.

Grandal, who plans on playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, said he will “try to catch every day there.”

For now, he said, “the main thing is just being in the lineup. That’s why I’m playing first or third or wherever it is they need me to be.”


(utsandiego.com)