The Pirates are identified to be in search of nook infield assist and free agent Randal Grichuk is one participant they’re interested by, reviews Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. They have been additionally linked to Alex Verdugo in rumors this week.
Grichuk, 33, is coming off a robust season. He signed with the Diamondbacks for a modest $2MM assure, one among a number of veteran gamers ignored within the chilly throughout final winter’s frosty market. The Snakes largely used him in a short-side platoon capability, so Grichuk solely acquired 279 plate appearances, however he made probably the most of them. He hit 12 dwelling runs and slashed .291/.348/.528 general for a 139 wRC+.
In his profession, Grichuk has been higher towards lefties but in addition held his personal towards righties in 2024, in a restricted pattern. The D’Backs solely despatched him to the plate towards a righty 95 instances on the yr however he slashed .242/.274/.527 in these for a 116 wRC+. His profession line in that break up is .242/.288/.449 for a wRC+ of 93. In opposition to southpaws, he hit .319/.386/.528 for a 159 wRC+ in 2024, with a profession line of .273/.324/.509 and a 121 wRC+.
Whether or not or not these improved outcomes towards righties are sustainable, it was a stable marketing campaign on the entire and one that may possible earn Grichuk a elevate. Along with his offensive contributions, he’s additionally been a stable defender in his profession. Each Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Common have him an above common fielder, although they have been break up on his 2024 season, with Grichuk producing +3 DRS and -2 OAA.
For the Bucs, their seek for outfield assistance is comprehensible. Bryan Reynolds is more likely to be in left subject and Oneil Cruz in heart, however proper subject is extensive open. Together with Reynolds, eight totally different guys performed at the least 27 innings for Pittsburgh in 2024, the opposite seven being Bryan De La Cruz, Edward Olivares, Connor Joe, Joshua Palacios, Ji Hwan Bae, Jack Suwinski and Billy Cook dinner. None of them took maintain of the place and plenty of of them have been expunged from the roster.
It was reported final month that they might be in search of nook outfield upgrades, although it appeared honest to anticipate them to maintain the funding pretty modest. They’ve by no means been a big-spending membership and RosterResource initiatives them for a $79MM payroll subsequent yr. That’s already fairly near the $86MM determine they needed to open final yr, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
Regardless of his sturdy season, Grichuk’s market has been fairly quiet to date. It was reported final month that the Orioles had some curiosity in him, although that got here out after they’d already signed Tyler O’Neill and thus diminished or maybe eradicated their want for Grichuk.
The outfield free agent market has seen some motion however there’s nonetheless extra to return. Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernández, O’Neill and others have signed however Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar are nonetheless on the market, with these two in search of multi-year offers. Guys like Grichuk, Verdugo, Jesse Winker, Mark Canha and others are additionally accessible and more likely to find yourself with one-year offers.
Given the Pirates’ historical past, they’re most likely going to finish up with somebody within the latter group. If it’s Grichuk, he might maybe discover a platoon accomplice already on the roster, as Palacios, Suwinski and Bae are nonetheless there and every of them hits left-handed. Palacios and Bae have been subpar towards each lefties and righties of their respective large league careers however Suwinski has been stable towards righties. He has a brutal .173/.264/.306 slash and 58 wRC+ towards southpaws however a .218/.323/.442 line and 107 wRC+ the remainder of the time.
