The Diamondbacks’ sell-off continues this evening as they’re trading outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Royals, according to a report from Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that right-hander Andrew Hoffmann is headed to Arizona in exchange for Grichuk’s services. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix reports that Hoffmann, who is already on the 40-man roster, will be assigned to Triple-A Reno by the Diamondbacks once the trade becomes official. Both teams subsequently announced the trade.
Grichuk, 34 next month, is a veteran of 12 MLB seasons who has spent the past two years in Arizona. While he played mostly center field for the Cardinals and Blue Jays in his younger days, more recently Grichuk has fashioned a role for himself as a corner outfielder who primarily chips in against left-handed pitching. That’s certainly a piece the Royals could make use of, as they’ve gotten the least production from their outfield in the majors by measure of wRC+ (64) and fWAR (-2.4) this year. Kansas City has also been well below average (74 wRC+) against left-handed pitching this year; only six teams have been less productive at the dish against opposing southpaws.
The Royals are relying on an outfield mix of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and John Rave this year with MJ Melendez and Tyler Tolbert occasionally chipping in as well. Tolbert’s 77 wRC+ leads that quintet of players as things stand, meaning that even as Grichuk’s production has dipped substantially this year he’ll still be a major upgrade for the Kansas City offense. Grichuk is hitting .243/.280/.462 with a wRC+ of 99 in 186 plate appearances this year. That jumps up to a 102 wRC+ when looking at his work against lefties, which should be more than enough to make him a regular fixture of the club’s lineup against southpaws. While Arizona’s crowded outfield mix means that Grichuk only saw token usage against right-handers during his time with the Diamondbacks, the Royals’ weak outfield mix and Grichuk’s decent 92 wRC+ could mean an uptick in playing time for the veteran against same-handed pitchers as well.
The deal is the latest sign that the Royals view themselves as potential contenders at this point in the season. The club is 51-53 at the moment, two games below .500 and 3.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot. Fangraphs gives the club a 13.0% chance of reaching the playoffs based on their current projections, but with other bubble teams like the Rays, Guardians, and Twins at least seeming to consider selling in some capacity it seems as though Kansas City is staying the course and making moves to add low-cost veterans on expiring contracts like tonight’s Grichuk deal and the trade for second baseman Adam Frazier earlier this month. While sell-side trades can’t be completely ruled out, the Royals already seemed somewhat hesitant to deal veteran right-hander Seth Lugo even before today’s move to bring in Grichuk. It wouldn’t be the first time a team has both bought and sold at a trade deadline if the Royals did ultimately decide to part with Lugo (or another speculated trade candidate like Kris Bubic), but this latest addition seems likely to push them further into the buyer’s lane than they had been previously.
As for the Diamondbacks, this trade pushes them further into the seller lane after they dealt first baseman Josh Naylor to Seattle earlier this week. With two of the club’s many rentals on expiring contracts now out the door, deals involving other rental pieces like third baseman Eugenio Suarez, right-hander Zac Gallen, and righty Merrill Kelly are all the more likely. The Diamondbacks are, themselves, just four games out of a Wild Card spot with an identical 51-53 record to the Royals. With that being said, Arizona’s decision to sell makes plenty of sense considering the number of high profile impending free agents on the roster ticketed for free agency this November. With ace Corbin Burnes and leverage arms like A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez done for the 2025 season already, reloading the roster with young talent ahead of what they’re surely hoping will be a return to contention in 2026 makes plenty of sense.
In the case of this trade, that young talent comes in the form of Hoffmann, a right-hander who made his big league debut with the Royals earlier this year. The 25-year-old has just 3 MLB games under his belt, during which he posted a 3.86 ERA with four walks and five strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings of work. Despite that meager sample size at the big league level, Hoffmann has been nothing short of excellent at Triple-A this year. The righty has pitched to a 2.32 ERA across 40 innings of work with Kansas City’s Omaha affiliate, and in that time he’s struck out 33.3% of his opponents while walking just 6.1%.
Those are strong numbers, and while he was not considered one of the club’s top prospects entering the 2025 campaign it’s hardly surprising that the Diamondbacks would be interested in the right-hander. Arizona has made clear that adding young pitching talent is their top priority this summer, and Hoffmann comes to the club as a big-league ready reliever who has just a few days of MLB service time under his belt. Hoffmann joins lefty Brandyn Garcia and prospect Ashton Izzi as a part of the wave of pitching Mike Hazen’s front office is looking to create after Garcia and Izzi both came over as the return for Naylor earlier this week.
