General manager Chaim Bloom has a lot of work to do with the Red Sox. Those are his words, not mine. Boston is currently the worst team in the American League. Smartly, Bloom has done his best to scour the waiver wire constantly. Recently, the Philadelphia Phillies tried to pass Deivy Grullón through waivers in an attempt to clear a 40-man roster spot. Bloom was not going to let that happen.
Grullón, 24, is a former highly regarded catching prospect. Now he’s a 40 man waiver claim by the Red Sox. For a team that is deprived of young up and coming talent, claiming players is part of the process. Can Deivy Grullón become a steal for Boston? There are reasons to believe an unknown waiver claim could become a real contributor.
Grullón only played four games for Phillies last year. The numbers weren’t sexy (1-9) but it was also a very small sample size. At the AAA level, Grullón has hit well for a catcher posting a stat line of .283 BA and .851 OPS. That’s a risk worth taking if you’re Boston.
There’s hope that Grullón can become back up catcher with some pop. The Dominican born catcher also is regarded as a guy who can throw out runners and control a pitching staff. With Christian Vazquez entrenched as the starter, Grullón developing into a real contributor, would take care of that position for the long haul.
The scouting reports on Grullón are encouraging for a player the Red Sox got for free:
VIA Baseball America:
“Gruillon has turned out to be a catcher with more offensive upside than most thanks to his above-average power. His swing isn’t geared to hitting for average, as there is some length, but the power fits a backup catcher profile. He works well with pitchers and he has a plus arm. His thick trunk does limit his agility as a catcher.”
VIA MLB Pipeline:
“Offensively, Grullon is all about power from the right side of the plate. He’s topped 20 homers in each of the last two seasons thanks to hard contact and good exit velocities combined with high launch angle. He can drive the ball to all fields, with more of his home runs in 2019 actually going to the opposite field. With his power stroke comes a fairly high strikeout rate, though his walk rate went up as well in Triple-A.
“Grullon’s overall defensive skills are acceptable, but he needs to continue to work on his receiving and blocking. He does have one of the strongest arms in the system.”
Bloom has acquired three catching prospects since taking over GM duties. Boston received Jhonny Pereda for Travis Lakins, and Connor Wong was the throw-in for the Mookie Betts trade. Grullón is now the third.
Look, maybe this is nothing. However, to acquire a player like this for nothing should be considered a huge win. It’s a low risk, high reward move that helps move the needle during the middle of a rebuild.
