Red Sox Release Two-Time All-Star Catcher

The Boston Red Sox are in offseason mode, and in the process of building their roster for next year, they released Yasmani Grandal.

Grandal signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox on April 13. However, on June 4, he was placed on the restricted list. The move came after Grandal left the team, citing his intention to retire, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.

“A source indicated that the Red Sox expect Grandal to retire, as WooSox manager Chad Tracy said a day earlier,” Cotillo wrote on June 4. “June 1 represents a common opt-out/upward mobility date around baseball for veteran players on minor league deals and it’s possible Grandal made the decision to hang up his cleats once it became clear, once again, that the Red Sox wouldn’t be calling him up.”

Grandal has not made an official retirement announcement. If it is the end of his MLB career, he will finish with two All-Star selections and 1,307 regular-season games. He also played in 40 postseason games.

Grandal has hit 194 career home runs across 13 big league seasons. He spent the most time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he earned his first All-Star selection. His second All-Star selection came with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Despite not playing in the big leagues for the Red Sox, he appeared in 23 games for Triple-A Worcester. In 23 games at the Triple-A level last season, he slashed .256/.372/.397 with two home runs. After a long career, he noted he is ready to focus on his family.

“It’s time to be a dad,” Grandal told Tracy before leaving the Woo Sox, per MassLive’s Katie Morrison-O’Day.

Grandal has played for a total of five different teams throughout his Major League Baseball career. He spent four seasons with the Dodgers, four seasons with the Chicago White Sox, three seasons with the San Diego Padres, one season with the Brewers and one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.