Another former Blue Jay is off the board.
On Saturday morning, it was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the Arizona Diamondbacks are signing former Blue Jay Randal Grichuk to a one-year, $2 million deal. The deal includes a mutual option for 2025 with a $6 million option and performance bonuses.
Grichuk, who was picked one pick ahead of Mike Trout, was traded to the Blue Jays in early 2018 for Dominic Leone and Conner Greene. The outfielder spent four seasons with the Jays, slashing .244/.293/.447 with 68 home runs in 1321 plate appearances, along with a 25.3 K% and a 5.7 BB%.
One of his best seasons came in his first season as a Jay, slashing .245/.301/.502 with 25 homers in 462 plate appearances, along with a 5.8 BB% and a 26.4 K%. This gave him a 114 wRC+, along with a 2.7 fWAR. He followed that up with a career-high 31 home runs in 2019, but only finished with a 90 wRC+.
The Blue Jays traded Grichuk, along with most of his contract, to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Raimel Tapia and Adrian Pinto, an interesting prospect that has yet to remain healthy with the Jays.
In 2022, Grichuk slashed .259/.299/.425 with 19 homers in 538 plate appearances, along with a 4.5 BB% and a 23.6 K% for a 87 wRC+ and a -0.2 fWAR, the lowest in his career. He spent the first part of the 2023 season with the Rockies as well, slashing .308/.365/.496 with eight homers in 263 plate appearances and was tracking to have one of his best seasons, before the Rockies traded him to the Los Angeles Angels.
There, he slashed .216/.264/.412 with eight homers in 208 plate appearances, but had an 80 wRC+ and a -0.1 fWAR, bringing his season total to a 0.6 fWAR. To attempt to stay under the Competitive Balance Tax, the Angels waived all of their acquisitions at the trade deadline, including Grichuk, when they all but fell out of playoff contention. Grichuk, in fact, was waived twice and remained with the team throughout the rest of the season. What a mess of a franchise.
Grichuk joins former Blue Jays Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno, both were involved in the Daulton Varsho trade two days before Christmas in 2022.
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