The Kansas City Royals were buyers at the trade deadline this summer. They were expected to sell, but chose to take a different approach.
They added pitchers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek and also acquired three bats to boost their offense. The offense had been their achilles heel leading up to the trade deadline.
One of the bats they picked up was veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk. He was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who committed to selling at the deadline.
Jacob Milham of FanSided gave a brief rundown of all the Royals trade acquisitions at the deadline, and he praised the team for going out and acquiring Grichuk, even though he has struggled out of the gate with Kansas City.
“The Royals need him to break out of his funk, but given his niche role, his low points are still an upgrade over other Kansas City outfielders. No offense to Hoffman, but Kansas City bet on some positive regression and only lost a non-prospect reliever. This was the right gamble that hopefully pays off sooner rather than later,” Milham wrote.
Grichuk is hitting .235/.274/.445 with eight home runs, 24 RBI and a .719 OPS this season. However, he does bring power from the right side of the plate, a veteran presence to a young clubhouse, and the ability to play all three outfield positions. He could also potentially serve as a designated hitter on occasion.
Grichuk was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2009 and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014. He made his debut with St. Louis that season. He has also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, and even returned to the Halos in 2023 at the trade deadline.
He is a career .251/.298/.468 hitter with 211 home runs, 626 RBI, a 14.4 WAR and a .766 OPS. The Royals fortunately did not have to give up too much in order to land him from Arizona, and if he turns things around, this will prove to be quite a fruitful addition for Kansas City.
If he can get going, he could give the Royals a major offensive boost as they try to chase down the final American League Wild Card spot. We’ll see what the Royals get out of him.
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