Diamondbacks sign veteran outfielder to one-year deal

Los Angeles Angels right fielder Randal Grichuk (15)

The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Randal Grichuk to a one-year deal worth $2M in guaranteed money, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. Grichuk will earn $1.5M in base salary in 2024, and there is a $500K buyout on a mutual option for the 2025 season.  Grichuk will earn $6M in 2025 if both sides exercise the mutual option. Excel Sports Management represents Grichuk.

Grichuk hit .267/.321/.459 with 16 homers over 471 plate appearances 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 a .822 career OPS against southpaws 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 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, Alek Thomas and the newly-signed Joc Pederson. All three players are left-handed bats and only Carroll is a lock for everyday duty, so Grichuk should 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 aggressively bolstered their roster this offseason. Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a four-year, $80M contract, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was brought back for a three-year, $42M commitment, and Pederson will earn $12.5M 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 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 $143M next season, as per Roster Resource.  While still a pretty modest payroll by league-wide standards, it is one of the larger payrolls in Arizona’s franchise history and a sizeable bump over the club’s $116.1M Opening Day payroll from 2023.  Between these expenditures and new extensions for GM Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo, the Diamondbacks clearly feel 2023 was just the beginning of a new contention window. They have used their extra playoff revenue to reinvest in the roster.

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