The Kansas City Royals fell short of the postseason in 2025. Their pitching staff carried the load, but could only do so much as the offense struggled and ultimately cost them a chance to return to the postseason after a Wild Card berth in 2024. They tried to bolster the lineup by making some moves at the trade deadline, but those moves ultimately did not work out for Kansas City.
One of the moves they made was to acquire Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He ultimately did not perform well this season. He does have a mutual option for 2026.
However, Jacob Milham of Kings of Kauffman advised against the Royals picking that up for next season.
“This feels like the closet of all the decisions. Outfielder Randal Grichuk came to Kansas City ahead of the trade deadline after previously being targeted by the club on numerous occasions. He arrived with a seemingly clear goal: hitting left-handed pitching. After all, that is what he has been doing most of his career and is quietly one of the league’s better hitters against southpaws,” Milham wrote.
“Grichuk has a .198/.260/.292 through 42 games with the Royals, good for a 52 wRC+ in 104 plate appearances. It feels par for the course and even a step towards bogey after Grichuk struggled in Arizona to start off this season.”
Between the Diamondbacks and Royals, Grichuk hit just .225/.271/.399 with nine home runs and 27 RBI. He also had a -0.9 WAR this year.
It’s safe to say that this deal did not pan out well for the Royals. Grichuk did not give them the boost they needed to score more runs, especially against left-handed pitching.
The important thing to remember about mutual options however is that even if the Royals decline, he can still pick up his end of the option and remain part of the team in 2026, but the Royals would be wise to pass on him this offseason.
Still, there is no guarantee that he won’t be back next year, and it will certainly be interesting to see how the Royals approach this in the coming weeks after the postseason ends.
Grichuk didn’t pan out as hoped for the Royals, and they would likely be better served letting him go.
More MLB: Royals’ Likely Offseason Trade Strategy Revealed By Team Insider
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