Kansas City Royals fans weren’t all sure how to feel when Randal Grichuk was acquired at the trade deadline, but his departure might cause even less emotion.
Grichuk, the 12-year veteran whom the Royals acquired in late July from the Arizona Diamondbacks, was brought in to help spark the offense, and an unlikely late-season playoff charge in Kansas City. None of that really panned out, and though there were some light murmurs about a low-cost reunion in free agency, it never seemed particularly close to coming to fruition.
On Wednesday, Grichuk and the New York Yankees agreed to a minor-league contract with a non-roster invite to spring training, according to Jack Curry of YES Network. The 34-year-old will try to join a seventh major league team for a 13th season in the show.
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Grichuk’s brief Royals tenure gives way to Bronx opportunity
In 43 games for the Royals, Grichuk sputtered with the bat, posting a .206/.267/.299 slash line, two home runs, and just five RBIs. It was a relatively limited role he was asked to play, with most of his at-bats coming against left-handed pitching.
Kansas City’s trade deadline was hard to read in the moment, and seven months later, the same is true. Grichuk was the bellwether that they weren’t selling, as he was acquired for right-handed pitcher Ryan Hoffman shortly after the Royals inked starting pitcher Seth Lugo to a two-year extension.
What followed were deals for outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and starting pitcher Bailey Ober, plus a highly entertaining swap that sent catcher Freddy Fermin to the San Diego Padres for a pair of right-handers, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert.
Grichuk was very, very good for the Diamondbacks in 2024. He had a 139 OPS+ and 2.2 bWAR in 106 games, spanning only 279 plate appearances. The Royals pretty much got the opposite, but that doesn’t mean the platoon specialist has no hope to contribute in the Bronx.
While it would be somewhat painful for the Royals to see Grichuk succeed in pinstripes, his Kansas City tenure is likely to wind up a somewhat harmless blip on the radar, assuming Hoffman doesn’t turn into an unexpected stud for Arizona.
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