The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Randal Grichuk to a one-year deal worth $2MM in guaranteed money, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (X link). Grichuk will earn $1.5MM in base salary in 2024, and there is a $500K buyout on a mutual option for the 2025 season. If the mutual option is exercised by both sides, Grichuk will earn $6MM in 2025. Grichuk is represented by Excel Sports Management.
Grichuk hit .267/.321/.459 with 16 homers over 471 plate appearance for the Rockies and Angels last season, translating to a perfectly average 100 wRC+ for the 32-year-old. This matches the 100 wRC+ Grichuk has posted over his entire 10-year career in the Show, with a .249/.296/.465 slash line and 191 home runs over 4261 plate appearances. Within those overall numbers sits a decidedly superior set of numbers against left-handed pitching, as the right-handed hitting Grichuk has an .822 career OPS against southpaws as compared to a .735 OPS against righties.
Since the start of the 2020 season, Grichuk’s splits have grown wider, as he has All-Star level numbers against lefties and sub-replacement level production against righties. With the door quite possibly closing on Grichuk’s viability as an everyday player, this perhaps makes him an ideal fit for a Diamondbacks team looking for some right-handed balance within a lefty-heavy outfield mix.
Reports surfaced last week that Grichuk was one of the players the Snakes were eyeing as a veteran complement to outfielders Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas, as well as the newly-signed Joc Pederson. All three of those players are left-handed bats and only Carroll is a lock for everyday duty, so Grichuk should be able to find plenty of at-bats filling in for Pederson or Thomas when a lefty is on the mound. Grichuk can play all three outfield positions and is at least passable defensively in center, adding to his value as a part-timer.
Coming off a surprise NL pennant, the Diamondbacks have been aggressive in bolstering their roster this offseason. Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a four-year, $80MM contract, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was brought back for a three-year, $42MM commitment, and Pederson will earn $12.5MM in guaranteed money for his one-year deal (with a mutual option for 2025). Between these signings, Grichuk, and the trade that brought Eugenio Suarez from the Mariners, Arizona has both upgraded the rotation and added a lot of balance, power, and veteran experience to the position player mix.
The D’Backs are projected to have a payroll slightly lower than $143MM next season, as per Roster Resource. While still a pretty modest payroll by league-wide standards, it stands as the larger payroll in Arizona’s franchise history, and a sizeable bump over the club’s $116.1MM Opening Day payroll from 2023. Between these expenditures and new extensions for both GM Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo, the Diamondbacks clearly feel 2023 was just the beginning of a new contention window, and have used their extra playoff revenue to reinvest in the roster.
