Report: Brewers, Reds expected to be interested in Grandal

Free agency has yet to officially get underway, but the market for two-time All-Star Yasmani Grandal has already begun to materialize.

Grandal is expected to generate significant interest on the open market this offseason, with the Cincinnati Reds and incumbent Milwaukee Brewers reportedly among the suitors, according to MLB insider Robert Murray.

The catcher is coming off a one-year, $16-million deal with the Brewers that included a mutual option for 2020 worth an additional $16 million and a $2.25-million buyout. Grandal has already opted not to exercise his side of the option and is eligible to hit free agency.

The 30-year-old will be ineligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Brewers due to the fact the Los Angeles Dodgers tendered Grandal one last year, which the backstop rejected.

Grandal is coming off his second All-Star campaign and was one of the most productive players on the Brewers. Considering the fact that his platform year was one of the best of his career, and the fact that his market won't be encumbered by draft-pick compensation, Grandal's market should wind up being more robust than last year's, when it took until January for him to land a one-year deal worth roughly the same as the qualifying offer he'd turned down.

Entering his age-31 season, Grandal appeared in a career-high 153 games this past year with Milwaukee, during which he slashed .246/.380/.468 with 28 homers while ranking as one of the premier defensive catchers in the game. Grandal made 124 starts behind the plate while making 16 additional starts at first base and one as a designated hitter.

The Reds currently have Tucker Barnhart as their starting catcher. The 28-year-old authored a .708 OPS over 114 games last year. He's under contract through 2022 and due at least $8.63 million.