Why Randal Grichuk is the perfect option to fill Pirates' outfield vacancy

The Pittsburgh Pirates need a decent option in right field. They’ve recently shown interest in some of the veteran outfielders who remain on the market, most notably Alex Verdugo and Randal Grichuk. Grichuk is the better of the two. While he may not be a flashy option at first blush, Grichuk is one of the best options out on the free agent market, and not just from a Pirates point of view.

Grichuk turned in a strong .291/.348/.528 triple-slash through 279 plate appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024. He went yard a dozen times with a .236 isolated slugging percentage. The best part of his game, however, was his plate discipline. Grichuk struck out in just 16.5% of his plate appearances, which is a career-low by a mile. He has never struck out less than 20% of the time in any season. His 20.4% whiff rate is also a career-best mark. Grichuk also walked at a 7.2% rate, which is another career-best. 2024 also represented the first time he has ever swung outside the zone less than 30% of the time at 28.6%.

Fans may criticize Grichuk, as he’s more of a platoon bat. That is a reasonable criticism of his game. The veteran outfielder is much better against lefties than righties. Still, that sells him short, ignoring his capabilities when he has to face same-handed pitching. Grichuk isn’t completely helpless against right-handed pitching. He is a career .242/.288/.449 batter with a .737 OPS against RHP. The league, as a whole, has a .249/.316/.410 triple-slash with a .726 OPS against RHP since Grichuk made his debut in 2014. While the Pirates would benefit from finding a suitable platoon option, it’s not as if Grichuk can’t hold his own when he needs to.

Pirates target Randal Grichuk deserves credit for being more than a platoon bat

Along with good hitting, Grichuk can also field at a decent level. He had +3 defensive runs saved and a +14.2 UZR/150, but -2 outs above average in the outfield last year. Grichuk’s average arm strength was in the 60th percentile of all position players. He was also about league average when it came to route running and jumps on fly balls.

Grichuk’s underlying numbers paint a good picture as well. He had a .359 xwOBA, .278 xBA, and .483 xSLG%. His 90.6 MPH average exit velocity and 11% barrel percentage represented the best marks he has put up since 2018. He may not be a near-.900 OPS hitter in 2025, but it’s still very reasonable to expect whoever signs Grichuk to receive a player who can put up an OPS hovering around .800 while providing above-average power.

He even projects better than players some Pirates fans would have likely preferred them to go after. MLB Trade Rumors pinned the Pirates as a destination for Michael Conforto at the start of the offseason. Conforto had just +1.3 fWAR in 488 plate appearances compared to Grichuk, who had +1.5 fWAR in over 200 fewer trips to the plate. Tyler O’Neill, another player MLBTR also had the Pirates potentially landing, has hit .234/.321/.445 with a 112 wRC+ over the last three seasons. Grichuk, meanwhile, has hit .269/.318/.459 with a 104 wRC+ over the same amount of seasons. Grichuk has also been more reliable in terms of health compared to O’Neill, and outdid O’Neill in xwOBA.

Pirates fans should be excited if the team signs Randal Grichuk. He’s a solid batter who can play at least at an average level across all three outfield positions. He can also hit for power, which is something this team very much needs. He’ll play even better if the Bucs can find a solid platoon partner for him, whether that means also bringing in Verdugo or hoping that Matt Hague can work some magic with Jack Suwinski or Joshua Palacios.