Everyone at SoxFest is excited for Yasmani Grandal

Yasmani Grandal meets the media at SoxFest 2020 (Photo by Josh Nelson)

The first day of SoxFest 2020 was a star-studded event in front of a sold-out crowd loudly cheering in excitement when players took the red carpet. The Cuban trio of Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, and Jose Abreu was inseparable, showing off their taste in fashion, looking like they were attending a Hollywood premiere rather than a baseball fan convention. Everyone within the White Sox had higher spirits and morale than just a year ago when there was uncertainty hanging in the air about what the team was doing in their pursuit of Manny Machado.

Instead, it was the first time White Sox fans had the opportunity to meet the star free agent signing this offseason, Yasmani Grandal. A much-needed addition to the roster bringing switch-hitting power with a keen eye of the strike zone and considered one of the best pitch framers in all of baseball. Grandal is the rare type of position players who not only provides a significant boost offensively but will help the White Sox reduce the number of runs allowed in 2020. That will be key with such a young pitching staff, and so far, Grandal doesn’t regret signing with the White Sox.

“You should ask my wife about that because she had a lot to do with my decision to sign here,” said Grandal. “After meeting the guys, I had expectations, but they have blown them away. Building relationships with the pitchers has helped me out a lot to get a feel for them.”

One of those pitchers is Dylan Cease, whose rookie season was a bit of a roller coaster experience. The first three innings of his 14 starts in 2019 had fans holding their breath as Cease had a 7.46 ERA while trying to navigate the opposing lineup. Cease displayed his ability to make in-game adjustments to recover, posting a 3.26 ERA from the fourth to sixth innings. Still, that differential leads to a not pleasant 5.79 ERA overall and a -0.2 WAR according to Baseball-Reference.

Part of the problem Cease says was his fastball cutting and front shoulder flying open.

“My main focus this offseason has been fastball command and not cutting the fastball. This offseason working on my pitching, I haven’t been cutting the fastball as I’m always trying to make adjustments,” Cease said.

So how does one learn not to cut a fastball?

“For me, it’s the front side,” said Cease. “I was getting too rotational, but everything I’ve been throwing this offseason has been really good.”

Having Grandal behind the plate will benefit a pitcher like Cease as the young pitcher should see extra strikes from superior pitch framing. Grandal ranked third in Major League Baseball in Runs Extra Strikes (James McCann ranked last) thanks to framing 51.5% of pitches in the top part of the strike zone.

“I don’t pay attention to that because I don’t know how to decipher pitch-framing numbers,” said Cease. “If it’s something that I can’t control, I usually don’t spend a lot of time focusing on it, but it’s an added bonus for sure. I’m excited to pitch to Yasmani. Between him and James [McCann], there are no bad options at catcher. Yasmani does a great job with framing, and I’m sure his pitch calling is going to be just as good.”

Grandal is just as excited to work with someone like Cease, who has a dynamic pitch mix.

“Cease has a great repertoire. For me, I’m going to show him how to be more efficient and how to maintain a certain posture. I’m not going to tell him how to do it. He already knows how, but I will help with pitch selection and sequencing.”

Another factor Grandal touched on is how young players tend to overthink.

“A lot of times, we tend to overthink everything,” said Grandal. “To a young guy, I’ve been there. I thought too much about my swing, how I catch, and how I throw. I keep coming back to this because I had to learn this lesson, but everything is a process. When it comes to Cease, we will get him to understand the natural flow and his natural ability to take over. After that, he’ll be a done deal and be ready to go.”

Grandal is also very aware of the adjustment from playing primarily in the National League to the American League. In 101 interleague games, Grandal has hit .236/.338/.474 against American League opponents with 93 strikeouts to 52 walks and 22 home runs in 385 plate appearances. Small sample size, but even Grandal noticed that it took him a bit to adjust when he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.

“I went 0-for-12 to start last year with the Brewers. It’s the beauty of the game. You have to adjust and get back to your natural ability knowing what you do well while not looking ahead too much. Make the game about one pitch at a time and one swing at a time. At the end of the year, your numbers will be where they should be.”

Grandal is looking forward to sharing what he learned from his experiences with the Dodgers and Brewers. With a focus on preparation, Grandal is hoping to provide a boost to the roster that hasn’t seen a winning season together while not snapping his personal five straight postseason streak. As he took the stage at SoxFest, fans roared with approval, and behind the scenes, his new teammates share the same sentiment. Everyone is eager for the 2020 season to start.

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ParisSox

Thanks for thus and Josh’s article. It’s great for those of us who can’t be there.   Spring optimism in full force already.  

Lorenzo Barcelo

Does anyone know if anyone will be live streaming the town hall meeting today?  Or if there is a recording from yesterday out there?