The Yankees announced that outfielder Randal Grichuk he opted for free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment. This indicates that he withdrew after being nominated for the job earlier this week.
Grichuk, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees at the start of the season. That deal came with a $2.5MM salary if he was added to the roster, which he did, completing the Opening Day team. He is a right-handed batsman and has traditionally been better against lefties. The Yanks were hoping he would be a good addition to their heavy lineup. Unfortunately, he hit .227/.261/.364 against southpaws this year. That line leads to a 71 wRC+, which shows he’s been 29% below average in that division. He hit .194/.212/.323 overall.
That performance put him in DFA limbo and none of the other 29 teams wanted to terminate his contract. Players with at least five years of major league service time may outright decline assignments while keeping their salary obligations in tact. The Yankees will remain on the hook for the remainder of that $2.5MM. Another club could now sign Grichuk and would have to pay him a split portion of the league minimum of $780K for any time spent on the roster. That amount will be deducted from the Yankees’ payroll.
Grichuk’s recent form is not earning interest. Last year’s line of .228/.273/.401 was better than this year’s but still down, translating to an 82 wRC+. Defensively, Grichuk is only a corner man now. He has plenty of field experience but only two innings in that position since the end of the 2023 season.
He’s not too far off from being a great utility player. With the Diamondbacks in 2024, he slashed .291/.348/.528 with a 139 wRC+. About two-thirds of his plate appearances were against southpaws but he had above-average results against either-handed pitchers. That led to him getting a $5MM guarantee for 2025 but, as mentioned, his results haven’t been that great. He had to accept a minor league deal through 2026. Even when he was called, his salary was half of the previous year.
Although 29 teams recently had the opportunity to sign him, signing him now would be too expensive. On average, the league minimum will be less than a third of his salary and it would come without commitment, as the parties could break up at any time.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
