Padres “have gotten more aggressive” trying to trade Yasmani Grandal

ESPN colleagues Buster Olney and Keith Law both have sources saying the Padres are looking to deal catcher Yasmani Grandal, with Olney writing that they “have gotten more aggressive” in those efforts.

Grandal returned from a major knee injury to play well in 2014, hitting 15 homers and posting a .728 OPS in 128 games despite calling pitcher-friendly Petco Park home.

However, his .225 batting average wasn’t pretty and apparently the Padres aren’t big fans of his defense behind the plate, which explains why they’d even entertain trading a 26-year-old catcher with 20-homer power under team control through 2018.

If the Padres trade Grandal they’d presumably turn to Rene Rivera as their primary catcher. He’s a 31-year-old journeyman who logged more than 125 plate appearances in the majors for the first time in his career this season.


(hardballtalk.com)