The Yankees announced that outfielder Randal Grichuk has elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.
Grichuk, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in the offseason. That deal came with a $2.5MM salary if he got added to the roster, which he did, cracking the Opening Day squad. He is a right-handed hitter and has traditionally been better against lefties. The Yanks were hoping he could be a nice complement to their lefty-heavy lineup. Unfortunately, he has hit just .227/.261/.364 against southpaws this year. That line leads to a 71 wRC+, indicating he has been 29% below average in that split. He hit .194/.212/.323 overall.
That performance got him bumped into DFA limbo and none of the 29 other teams wanted to claim his contract off waivers. Players with at least five years of big league service time can reject outright assignments while keeping their salary commitments in tact. The Yankees will remain on the hook for the remainder of that $2.5MM. Another club could now sign Grichuk and would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the $780K league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Yankees pay.
Grichuk’s recent form isn’t much to garner interest. Last year’s .228/.273/.401 line was better than this year’s but still subpar, translating to a wRC+ of 82. Defensively, Grichuk is essentially a corner-only guy now. He has lots of center field experience but has just two innings at that position since the end of the 2023 season.
He’s not too far removed from being a useful complementary player. With the Diamondbacks in 2024, he slashed .291/.348/.528 for a 139 wRC+. Roughly two thirds of his plate appearances were against southpaws but he had above-average results against pitchers of either handedness. That led to him securing a $5MM guarantee for 2025 but, as mentioned, his results weren’t as good. He had to settle for a minor league deal for 2026. Even when he got called up, his base salary was half of the year prior.
Though 29 teams just passed on the chance to get him off waivers, signing him now would be much cheaper. On a prorated basis, the league minimum would be less than a third of his salary and it would also come with no commitment, as teams could cut bait at any time.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
A non loss. Not a detriment, not additive.
Might make sense for the Braves as someone to mix in for right field against lefties and/or DH to replace Farmer.
Yankee’s are losing their expendable minor league depth. They’re in trouble now!! 😁😁
Grichuk didn’t work out but I don’t mind that players are fighting for at bats. There’s plenty of opportunities to get MLB ab’s with all the offensive disappointments they have going on now.
See Randal stomping out of the Yankee cubicle farm, broken but not beaten, head held high cradling a box with his stapler, cat fotos, random office artifacts and plant, his fist held high a la Judd Nelson in brave defiance, vibing to Whitesnake: “Here i go again on my own, going down the only road I’ve ever known!”
Teams take a flyer on guys like Grichuk and Pham et al every year – declining veterans that might still have enough left in the tank to fill a role. At some point, the bat speed and athleticism has gone away to the point that it is over, and the low risk deal ends up as a wash.
It is a mixture of luck and good scouting and more luck as to which ones work out, but overall the success rate is not that great. Judging teams on things such as a Grichuk signing is beyond the reach of the vast majority of fans.
And who knows – Grichuk might latch on somewhere else and still have something in the tank…doubtful but possible. Short side platoon roles and early season statistical samplings make it difficult to get a true test of where a player is in the downward cycle. One has to see them up close and personal to have a better view on the remaining upside.
oh no, what does the only good AL team do now