Pirates lose ideal outfield option after Bob Nutting refuses to pay $5 million

Yet another outfielder has come off the board in free agency – and this one really has to sting for Pittsburgh Pirates fans.

The Arizona Diamondbacks re-signed veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk – who had been linked to the Pirates as recently as last month – to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2026. Grichuk's contract is similar to the one he signed with the Diamondbacks last year, when he hit .291/.348/.528 in 279 plate appearances over 106 games while playing a platoon role.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first to report Tuesday that Grichuk had re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2026. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the deal includes a $5 million guarantee, which is broken down into a $2 million salary followed by a $3 million buyout on a $5 million mutual option.

Grichuk is also eligible to earn an additional $500,000 via incentives in the form of a $250,000 bonus for reaching 200 plate appearances and another $250,000 for reaching 275. He also gets a one-time $250,000 assignment bonus in the event that he is traded.

$5.5 million, including incentives. That was too much for a Pirates team in desperate need of right field production?

Pirates lose ideal outfield option after Bob Nutting refuses to pay $5 million

Grichuk would have been an ideal fit for the Pirates. He excels in platoon roles, and his right-handed swing would have been a perfect complement to lefty-swinging Jack Suwinski in right field. Suwinski has been solid against right-handed pitchers in his career, but he has a brutal .173/.264/.306 slash line against lefties. Grichuk, meanwhile, has a career line of .273/.324/.509 against southpaws, including a .319/.386/.528 line in 2024 alone.

It is truly unconscionable that team owner Bob Nutting couldn't shell out $5.5 million – a massive underpay based on Grichuk's 2024 numbers – for a season of solid right field production. We are already well aware of Nutting's miserly ways, but this is almost unforgivable. Grichuk's market was also surprisingly quiet this offseason, so it is similarly unconscionable that general manager Ben Cherington and the Pirates front office couldn't make an aggressive push to bring him into the fold.

The Pirates' team payroll for 2025 is laughably low, totaling less than $66 million and ranking 27th out of 30 MLB teams. If the reason the Pirates couldn't sign Grichuk was his very reasonable $5 million asking price, then it's a minor miracle that any free agents are even answering Cherington's phone calls.

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