Nearly a Royal in the offseason, Grichuk suits up for KC

KANSAS CITY -- Saturday at Kauffman Stadium featured 19 innings of baseball between the Guardians and Royals, a walk-off three-run home run from Jonathan India in Game 1’s 5-3 Royals win and the shortest start of Kris Bubic’s season in Game 2’s 6-4 Royals loss with questions about the All-Star pitcher’s health circulating postgame.

And that was just on the field.

Off the field, the Royals made a mid-game trade during Saturday’s nightcap, acquiring veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk from the D-backs for reliever Andrew Hoffmann. The 25-year-old Hoffmann made his Major League debut this season but was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

TRADE DETAILS
Royals acquire: OF Randal Grichuk
D-backs acquire: RHP Andrew Hoffmann

Grichuk survived a quick turnaround from the D-backs’ game in Pittsburgh on Saturday night to make it to Kansas City on time for Sunday’s 4-1 win against the Guardians. He batted sixth against lefty starter Joey Cantillo, going 1-for-4.

Grichuk may have gotten limited sleep to catch a pre-dawn flight, but the Royals needed him: Left-handed pitching is a big reason why they wanted to add the right-handed hitter, who is slashing .243/.280/.462 in 69 games with the D-backs this year but has a .750 OPS against southpaws.

In his career, the 33-year-old Grichuk has an .827 OPS against lefties.

“When they called, they said, ‘If you’re willing to be here to play, we want you in the lineup [Sunday],’” Grichuk said. “And I want to play. That’s kind of my MO. I said, ‘Let’s do it, we’ll make it happen even if it’s crazy travel. It was a crazy whirlwind of a trip, but I’m excited to be here and settle down and settle in.”

With Mark Canha (elbow) on the 10-day injured list and utility man Nick Loftin on the 7-day concussion list, the Royals don’t have a right-handed hitting outfielder on their 26-man roster outside of Tyler Tolbert, who is an infielder/outfielder and is mainly used for pinch-running opportunities.

“There needs to be some semblance of a bench in the sense that you need options,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “[Manager Matt Quatraro] needs options to be able to maneuver through games. And when you have a lot of left-handed bats and not the right-handed bats that have proven they can hit left-handed pitching really well, at times you can feel a little short-handed. So this is just trying to make our roster deeper, make us better, allow us to be more competitive.”

Grichuk was on the Royals’ radar this past offseason as a veteran bat to add to their bench, but he ended up returning to Arizona on a one-year, $5 million deal with a $5 million mutual option or $3 million buyout for 2026.

“We had talked pretty intensively about signing here,” Grichuk said about Kansas City. “Had multiple competitive offers and ended up choosing Arizona. There was a point where I really thought I was going to be here. So kind of full circle now being here after those times this offseason where I thought I was a Kansas City Royal. I’m excited to be here.”

The Royals are fighting to stay in playoff contention as Thursday’s Deadline looms, and Saturday’s doubleheader split has them in the same spot they began the day in, at 51-54 and 4 1/2 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot, with three teams ahead of them.

That’s a tricky spot to be in ahead of the Deadline, with an obvious need for offense but pieces the Royals could trade and look ahead to 2026. Picollo has consistently stated his desire to build sustained success, which means continuing to be competitive for ‘25 and beyond.

“I don’t think we’re buyers or sellers,” Picollo said Friday. “I think we’re in the business of getting better. I think we have a good team right here. We believe in a lot of the guys that we have. We’re starting to see signs of the offense kind of coming to life, which is really what’s been missing all year.

“I think we just got to be open minded to different ways to make our team better.”

That includes on the margins, and Grichuk fills a specific need as a right-handed bat who has the ability to do some damage. A veteran of 12 seasons who has played for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Rockies, Angels and D-backs, Grichuk has a career .767 OPS and 14.4 bWAR. He’s taken a bit of a step back from the .291 batting average and .875 OPS he posted in 2024 with the D-backs, but his expected stats are better than what’s played out on the field this year, and his 14.6 barrel percentage and 92.6 average exit velocity are both above average.

And the Royals need improvement with their league-worst outfield: Entering Sunday, Royals outfielders as a group were slashing .205/.360/.307. Grichuk gives them another option out there, especially with right fielder Jac Caglianone now on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.

“Offensively, I’ve been OK,” Grichuk said. “Wouldn’t say anything great, wouldn’t say anything bad. I think I’ve had some loud outs, some frustrating nights. Finding some barrels but not getting the hits down. But I feel good with my mechanics. I feel good with where I’m at body-wise. I’m excited to finish strong.”