When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Yasmani Grandal at the 2014 Winter Meetings, he represented their most prolific catcher since Mike Piazza was with the organization. But for all of Grandal’s success with the team, came inconsistency and second-half slumps.
Last season, that amounted to Austin Barnes receiving more and more playing time behind the plate down the stretch of the year. And Barnes eventually unseated Grandal as the Dodgers’ starting catcher in the postseason.
Manager Dave Roberts said at the outset of Spring Training he anticipated Grandal reported to camp with the focus of winning his starting job back.