Less than 24 hours after Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said that he was still looking to add a right-handed bat, he did exactly that.
On Saturday, the Diamondbacks agreed to terms with outfielder Randal Grichuk on a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2025. According to reports, the contract guarantees Grichuk $2 million. Per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Grichuk can also earn up to $3.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances.
Grichuk, 32, slashed .267/.321/.459 with 16 homers, 44 RBI and 31 doubles in 118 games last year. He spent the majority of the season with the Colorado Rockies before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels on July 30. His greatest strength is no secret.
“Through the entirety of his career,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said, “he’s mashed lefties.”
Over the past three seasons, Grichuk has slashed .294/.335/.549 in 462 plate appearances against south paws, including a .328/.388/.607 line in 2023. He also has extensive experience at all three outfield positions, and he logged time at each of them last year.
Hazen said that paths exist both for Grichuk to play in the outfield and to play as a designated hitter, but it will be up to manager Torey Lovullo to determine exactly how he is deployed.
Lovullo applauded the move.
“It’s somebody that has a proven track record of being able to hit at this level,” Lovullo said. “Has had a lot of success, especially against left-handed pitching.
“I’ve always been a big fan, sitting across the field from him.”
On paper, Grichuk looks like a valuable addition for the Diamondbacks both as a designated hitter and as an outfielder.
Two weeks ago, the Diamondbacks signed left-handed slugger Joc Pederson to serve as their primary DH. However, questions remained as to how the team would handle the DH slot against lefties, given Pederson’s past struggles against them. Grichuk could slide into that role nicely.
Against righties, the Diamondbacks’ primary starting outfield figures to consist of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll. However, given that Thomas owns a career OPS of just .477 against lefties, Grichuk could be a helpful substitute in the outfield with south paws on the mound.
Defensively, however, substituting Grichuk for Thomas in center would not be ideal. While Grichuk did play center in 2023, he logged –3 defensive runs saved and –2 outs above average in just 145 2/3 innings. He is better served in the corners, where his metrics are middling, but good enough.
On paper, the ideal Diamondbacks outfield against lefties would include Gurriel in left, Carroll in center and Grichuk in right. Perhaps we will see that in 2024. Hazen did say, however, that he would eventually like to see Carroll settle into one position. He suggested that Grichuk could play some center field to help facilitate that, but it doesn’t sound like the team is insistent on Carroll sticking to one position just yet.
Grichuk’s deal is affordable enough to not carry extensive risk, but it is worth noting that Grichuk’s offensive numbers were considerably better in the first half of the year with the Rockies than with the Angels — and not just because of the Coors Field effect. Based on OPS+, a park-adjusted hitting metric, Grichuk was 20 percent above average offensively with the Rockies (120 OPS+) but 20 percent below average while with the Angels (80 OPS+).
Grichuk’s numbers against lefties remained strong after the trade, however. The issue was that he slashed only .201/.241/.376 against righties.
If anything, Grichuk’s second-half struggles further suggest that his greatest asset is hitting left-handed pitching — and that he should be shielded from right-handers as much as possible.
Ramifications for Jake McCarthy, others
Universally, when a team signs one player, another loses playing time as a result. This situation is no different. One D-backs outfielder, in particular, now seems to be in a tough position: Jake McCarthy.
With Thomas, Carroll, Gurriel, Pederson and Grichuk seemingly locks to make the club, it is hard to envision how another outfielder could fit on the Opening Day roster while leaving the necessary space to fill out bench roles at catcher and in the infield.
McCarthy, 26, finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 after hitting .283/.342/.427 in 99 games. The left-handed speedster struggled in 2023, however, hitting just .243/.318/.326. He was optioned to Triple-A Reno twice, each time for about a month.
Of course, injuries are inevitable, so McCarthy still figures to get some degree of opportunity in the majors in 2024. Still, given the fact that he still has minor-league options remaining, McCarthy might be poised to start the year in a depth role in Reno.
It is not the story arc the Diamondbacks had in mind when McCarthy looked so promising two years ago.
“Jake is a fantastic baseball player,” Lovullo said. “He rushed in on the scene in ’22 and was probably one of our most productive offensive players, and then I think the league made an adjustment to him.
“He did fine last year. It wasn’t that he had a terrible year and he hit .120. He had a fine year. But I think Jake is better than being fine, and he wants to excel like he did the year before.
“He’s very athletic and he’s a very good baseball player, and he’s gonna help us win some baseball games.”
Of course, the Diamondbacks could explore the possibility of trading McCarthy, with promising 23-year-old outfield prospect Jorge Barrosa waiting in the wings and already on the 40-man roster. However, it is unclear how much value McCarthy would have, what the Diamondbacks would want in return and whether the D-backs would even be comfortable with their outfield depth without him.
It is also worth noting that adding Grichuk to the 40-man roster required removing someone else. In this case, the corresponding move was a straightforward one: placing Drey Jameson, who is not expected to pitch in 2024, on the 60-day injured list. Jameson now no longer counts toward the 40-man roster.
However, the Diamondbacks might need to create more room on the 40-man roster before Opening Day — such as if a non-roster invitee makes the team — and that could prove more difficult. Indirectly, adding Grichuk could mean losing one additional 40-man-roster player to another organization.
Of course, tough 40-man roster decisions are not inherently bad; they’re a sign of a team that has good depth.
Said Hazen: “We are getting into what we believe are really good players at the bottom of our roster, which is what the goal should be; get it to a spot where we’re making very difficult decisions on that.”
Diamondbacks still looking to add?
The Diamondbacks’ heavy lifting is done this off-season, but Hazen said that he will still be looking to improve the team in smaller ways.
“Building out relief depth is probably still something that we’re talking about,” he said. “From a position player standpoint, we’re probably in a spot where it’s less likely to see a clear opportunity for somebody. But we still have competitions underneath some of the starting roles. So, we’ll see where that takes us.”
The Diamondbacks have been one of the more active teams on the acquisition front this off-season. Based on data from Cot’s Contracts, the team’s projected payroll is now just over $144 million. That is the highest mark in franchise history.
Top photo: Steven Bisig/USA TODAY Sports
