April 5: The Diamondbacks have made it official, announcing that they have reinstated Grichuk and optioned Barrosa.
April 4: Randal Grichuk appears to be on the verge of his Diamondbacks debut, as John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix (X link) reports that the outfielder is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Friday’s game with the Braves. Outfielder Jorge Barrosa was already optioned to Triple-A today to create room on the active roster.
Due to a January surgery that removed bone spurs from Grichuk’s ankle, he missed some of his usual offseason prep work, and thus was additional ramp-up time was likely to be required at the start of the season. A firmer timeline was put in place as Grichuk landed with the D’Backs on a one-year contract worth $2MM in guaranteed money (with a mutual option for 2025), and Arizona indeed put him on the 10-day IL so Grichuk could get some more outfield work in via a rehab assignment at Triple-A Reno. His IL placement was retroactive to March 25, so Grichuk’s stint lasted beyond the minimum 10 days only due to the fact that the D’Backs didn’t have a game today.
The 32-year-old veteran is expected to primarily face left-handed pitching this year, serving as a right-handed hitting counterpoint to the lefty-swinging group of DH Joc Pederson, utilityman Jace Peterson, and outfielders Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas. Corbin Carroll will naturally play every day in the outfield, and Thomas was himself sent to the 10-day IL earlier this week due to a hamstring strain. Since it appears as though Thomas’ injury is moderately serious, it could open up more playing time for Grichuk right away.
Grichuk delivered a league-average 100 wRC+ over 471 plate appearances with the Rockies and Angels in 2023, hitting .267/.321/.459 with 16 home runs. Grichuk’s splits have become increasingly slanted in recent years, and last season saw him hit .244/.294/.401 over 337 PA against righties and a far superior .328/.388/.607 slash line in 134 PA against southpaws. A platoon role seems like the best use of Grichuk at this point in his career, and he’ll now get a chance to contribute for a Diamondbacks team that is clearly in win-now mode.
Hey so will mlbtr be covering the A’s punishing players for wearing bracelets that suppose an organization against Fisher?
I think there are worse dudes out there playing this role.
For a reserve outfielder and part time DH you could do much worse
@RayKingsThickThighs
You can reference the Jays roster for “much worse”.
Grichuk will be an upgrade over Barrosa, especially against left handed pitching. Along with Blaze Alexander, Grichuk provides some excellent offensive firepower from the right side.
He’s back just in time to fill the RHH DH role so that Blaze can cover SS while Geraldo is day-to-day. Hopefully Gerry’s injury isn’t too bad.
A Grichuk/Pedersen platoon at DH is a sneaky good off-season move by Hazen. And Grichuk can offer solid defense at all three OF positions. Grichuk and McCarthy should be able to hold down the fort while Thomas is on the mend.
That’s a solid take imo.
Like don’t pencil him in as a regular in CF, but he’s a grinder, he can be well above average out there when healthy.
Handsome Randall.
Grichuk is that guy that his whole career he was on the cusp of being an above average player. If he walked only just a tiny bit more he would have been so much better. Although that could be sais of everyone. He plays good corner D with a good are and can handle CF for someone off days, 25-30 HR power and can steal a few bags. But when you only hit 250 and your obp is under 300 to go with that, your so close yet so far away
Well said. The average would have been tolerable if the OBP was a little better. He’s made a good career of it though.