Yasmani Grandal’s year with the Milwaukee Brewers should be remembered fondly. Brewers made a big splash at the catcher position with Grandal on a one-year deal for 18.25 million dollars. This move helped the Brewers’ offense go to the next level. The Brewers’ catcher made the All-Star Game and had an amazing season. It seemed inevitable that he would get a bigger deal this year in the open market. That did happen. Chicago White Sox signed Grandal for four years, 73 million dollars. Where do the Brewers go from here?

It is a great question. Grandal is a helluva player and one of the most valuable players of last year’s team. He made the offense go at times and was a true compliment to Christian Yelich. Brewers will have to find his value somewhere else in their lineup. He is good for about four or five wins per season, so, they’re losing a significant piece. If Milwaukee decides to go with Manny Pina versus Grandal, they will need to find another spot on the roster to gain those wins back.

Brewers need to focus on bringing back Mike Moustakas now. While I preferred bringing Grandal back over Moustakas, the time is now for the Moose. Brewers should not screw around, although, I do wonder if Moustakas waits for moves made by Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson. Let’s hope not. If Brewers can retain Moustakas, things get significantly better for the Brewers. If Moose finds his way to Atlanta or St. Louis, this could get ugly real quick for David Stearns and company. It is a mutual agreement, but the Brewers need to fight like hell to keep Moustakas.

Grandal got himself a great deal. He bet on himself and it led to a multi-year contract. He deserved every ounce of that major contract. After I’ve come down from my ledge a little bit, Grandal getting four years at 31 years old might be a bit of a reach. Is he going to be the same catcher in a few years as he ages? Maybe the thought is he can be a DH or first baseman as time goes on. That is likely how the White Sox were able to get a fourth year. My guess is the Cincinnati Reds, who were said to be in on Grandal, likely were only willing to give him three years or less money with the understanding that catchers do break down.

For whatever it’s worth, Mike Piazza is one of the best catchers of recent memory. He started to break down around 34 or 35 years old. He played less than 130 games in his last few years with the New York Mets and didn’t hit over 25 home runs after the age of 33. This isn’t a move about the Brewers being cheap, rather, they likely did not want to include that extra year.