Yasmani Grandal

Early years

Grandal was born in Havana, Cuba; he emigrated to the United States with his family at age 10 "the easy way," through the lottery system. Grandal attended Miami Springs High School in Miami Springs, Florida. He became an American citizen during his junior year.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 27th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and chose to attend the University of Miami, where he played for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team. In his 2010 season for the Hurricanes, he batted .401 with 15 home runs, 60 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .527 on-base percentage in 62 games. He finished second for the Golden Spikes Award and was named to the 2010 NCBWA Division I All-America Team.

Cincinnati Reds

Grandal was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds 12th overall in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He signed a 4-year, $2.99 million Major League contract on August 16, 2010 and was placed on the 40-man roster. He played his first professional ball for the Arizona League Reds in 2010. In 28 at-bats, he had eight hits and four walks. He batted .305 with 14 homers and 68 RBIs at Class A Bakersfield, Double-A Carolina and Triple-A Louisville in 2011, quickly rising through the farm system.

San Diego Padres

On December 17, 2011, he was traded by Cincinnati, along with Edinson Vólquez, Yonder Alonso, and Brad Boxberger, to the San Diego Padres for Mat Latos. Grandal was the third catcher on the Padres' 40-man roster at the time, behind Nick Hundley and John Baker on the depth chart.

He started the 2012 season with the Triple-A Tucson Padres. According to MLB.com, he was the Padres' third-ranked prospect and the fifth-best catching prospect in MLB. After batting .317 with a .421 OBP and four home runs, 23 RBIs in 120 at-bats, Grandal was promoted to San Diego as they needed another batter on the bench. He made his major league debut on June 2, 2012, entering as a defensive replacement and flying out in his only at-bat against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was reassigned to Tucson the next day and was selected to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.

In his first major-league start, just hours after being recalled from Tucson on June 30, 2012, Grandal became the first player in MLB history to homer from both sides of the plate for his first career hits in the same game (against Colorado Rockies pitchers Christian Friedrich and Jeremy Guthrie). He was also the second Padre to have a pair of round-trippers in his first career start since Keith Lockhart achieved it in 1994, and the fourth in team history to do it from each side of the plate in a single contest. He later became the seventh player to hit three home runs for his first three hits in the majors since 1900. On July 4, he hit a two-run pinch hit homer for his fourth homer in his first six hits. Grandal finished the year hitting .297/.394/.469 with 8 HR and 36 RBI in 60 games, 52 of them starts.

On November 7, 2012, MLB suspended Grandal for 50 games for testing positive for having a high testosterone level. He did not appeal the suspension and served his suspension at the beginning of the 2013 season.

In a January 2013 report, Grandal, along with several other Major League Baseball players, was linked to Biogenesis of America, a clinic that allegedly produced performance-enhancing drugs. On July 6, 2013, Grandal suffered a knee injury and left the game. An MRI revealed that there was significant damage in the ACL and MCL, which prematurely ended his 2013 season. He underwent surgery to repair the torn ACL and MCL on July 9, 2013. In 28 games in 2013, he hit .216 with one homer and 9 RBI.

In 2014, despite posting a disappointing slash line, .225/.327/.401, Grandal stayed healthy throughout the season. He finished with career highs in every offensive category. His defense behind the plate remained a question mark as he displayed issues throwing out baserunners. He also played first base in 2014, as he split time behind the plate with René Rivera.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 18, 2014, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers (along with Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin) in exchange for Matt Kemp, Tim Federowicz and $32 million in cash.

On May 7, 2015 Grandal hit two three-run homers and recorded a career high eight RBIs in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. On June 21, Grandal became the first Dodgers catcher with two home runs and a bunt single in one game since Roy Campanella on August 30, 1955. He was selected to the National League roster for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first All-Star selection. He spent the second half of the season battling shoulder inflammation that negatively affected his performance. He only had three hits in the entire month of September and finished the season hitting .234 with 16 home runs and 47 RBI. He had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder at the conclusion of the season and signed a one-year, $2.8 million, contract with the Dodgers, to avoid salary arbitration.

On July 8, 2016, Grandal had five hits in five at-bats in a 10-6 win against the Padres, including three home runs. He was the third catcher in history with five hits in a three-homer game (Victor Martinez in 2004 and Walker Cooper in 1949) and the third Dodger catcher to ever have three homers in a game (Mike Piazza in 1996 and Roy Campanella in 1950). He stayed healthy all season and hit .228 in 126 games with a career high 27 homers and 72 RBI. After the season, Grandal signed a $5.5 million contract with the Dodgers for 2017, avoiding salary arbitration.

Grandal hit two home runs against the Padres on April 3, 2017, one from each side of the plate. It was the first time a Dodger had ever done that on opening day in franchise history.