In need of a right-handed outfield bat, the Yankees brought in veteran Randal Grichuk on a minor-league deal with an invitation to big-league camp at spring training.
The 12-year veteran spent last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals, slashing .228/.273/.401 (.674 OPS) with nine home runs and 27 RBI across 113 games.
Grichuk would hypothetically provide power off the Yankees’ bench, although not much else. He owns a 162-game average of 25 home runs over the life of his career, including 31 with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019.
He has always fared quite well in his new home. Across 30 games at Yankee Stadium, he is batting .278 with an .866 OPS, seven home runs, and 15 RBI.
The need for a right-handed bat was a necessity for the Yankees this offseason, though general manager Brian Cashman left it late to address it. New York’s lineup is rife with left-handed bats: Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon, and Austin Wells.
Grichuk will enter the outfield equation behind the likes of Grisham, Bellinger, and Aaron Judge on the depth chart. Jasson Dominguez is not a given to make the big-league roster out of camp after a lackluster first full season last year. The Yankees might see it fit to give him some time in Triple-A before making the jump mid-season.
If that is the case, Grichuk’s chances of making the roster significantly increase, especially because Oswaldo Cabrera is still on the mend from last year’s season-ending leg injury.
