After being placed on waivers twice by the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk will hope for better fortune with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.
The D-Backs and the 32-year-old agreed to a deal that will pay the longtime pro $1.5 million this season, along with performance bonuses, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
“Outfielder Randal Grichuk and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in agreement on a one-year, $2 million contract that includes a mutual option for 2025,” the baseball insider reported. “The deal will pay Grichuk $1.5M this year and has a $6M option with a $500,000 buyout and performance bonuses.”
Grichuk split time between the Angels and Colorado Rockies last season, batting .267 with 16 home runs, 44 RBI, a .779 OPS and a 1.2 WAR over 118 appearances.
A 10-year veteran of Major League Baseball, Grichuk debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014. He spent a couple of seasons in Missouri before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and spending four campaigns in Canada.
He was again traded to the Rockies ahead of 2022 before being dealt to the Angels midway through 2023.
Randal Grichuk one of longest-tenured MLB outfielders
A veteran of 1,094 MLB games, Grichuk is third among all outfielders since becoming a full-time player in 2015. Only Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts and Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich have played more.
Over his career, the Texas native has racked up 990 hits, 191 home runs, 556 RBI and a 12.3 WAR. His career averages are 27 HRs, 79 RBI and a 1.7 WAR per 162 games, while batting .249 with a .761 OPS, per Fan Nation's Sam Connon.
“The Diamondbacks already had a solid starting outfield trio in place before signing Grichuk, with 23-year-old former top prospects Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas taking up two of those spots. The club also re-signed slugger Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to a three-year, $42 million contract in December,” wrote Connon on Saturday.
“Grichuk, Jace Peterson and Jake McCarthy are now set to enter 2024 as Arizona's depth outfielders, fighting for the leftover playing time when Thomas hits the bench or Gurriel starts at designated hitter.”
After a cinderella run that saw this club come within three wins of its second World Series title — eventually losing to the Texas Rangers in five games — the hope is that the roster can get over the hump in 2024.
And veteran Randal Grichuk figures to be a central piece of that effort.
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