4 former division rival players the Pirates should pursue this offseason

Randal Grichuk

Another former St. Louis Cardinal, Randal Grichuk spent parts of the first five seasons of his career with the Cards. Grichuk has been a thorn in the Pirates’ side throughout most of his career, with a .293/.354/.454 line against the Bucs, along with a .302 batting average and .835 OPS in PNC Park. That kind of production would be great for the Pirates, and considering the season he is coming off of, it would be totally plausible.

Grichuk spent the 2024 campaign with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he batted .291/.348/.521. Grichuk has always been known for his power, and continued to show that off this past year. He had a dozen home runs in only 279 plate appearances with a .236 isolated slugging percentage. Grichuk has never been one to draw many walks, and while his 7.2% BB% was still below league average, it was a career-best mark. Another career-best mark was his 16.5% K%, which is also the first time Grichuk has struck out in less than 20% of his plate appearances.

Overall, Grichuk had a .373 wOBA and 139 wRC+. It’s not as if he over-performed, either. Grichuk had a .368 xwOBA, along with a .505 xSLG%. His 11% barrel percentage is the highest he has put up in 250+ plate appearances since 2018, his first season after getting traded from the Cards. Grichuk’s 90.7 MPH exit velocity is also tied with his 2018 season for the second-best of his career, with only his rookie year surpassing it.

Grichuk can certainly help the Pirates out in right field. He has over 3,500 career innings at the position. He also has over 3,500 frames up the middle in center, along with nearly 1,500 in left field. Last year, he only saw time in the outfield corners, where he had +3 defensive runs saved and only -2 outs above average. Grichuk was in the 60th percentile of arm strength, so he has a strong enough arm to play any of the three outfield positions. In terms of route running and jump, he graded out as average last year, covering 34.2 feet in his jump.

There’s no better fit on the free agent market for the Pirates than Grichuk. The Pirates desperately need help in right field, and the veteran slugger is coming off a great season. So far, only one team has shown public interest in Grichuk this offseason, and that's the Boston Red Sox, but the Pirates have a better chance of offering Grichuk regular playing time. Sure, he was mostly used in a part-time role, and his numbers would likely regress if he were to see a full-time role. But even if he were to have a .800-ish OPS and 110 wRC+, he’d be plenty valuable to the Bucs.