Former Angels Star Flees To NL West Contender! $5 Million Deal Seals the Deal
The Arizona Diamondbacks have reunited with a former Los Angeles Angels outfielder.
Randal Grichuk and the Diamondbacks agreed to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2026, the club announced this week.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Grichuk’s base salary for 2025 is expected to be $2 million, with a mutual option worth $5 million ($3 million buyout), totaling a guaranteed $5 million plus $500,000 in incentives for the year.
Grichuk finished the 2023 season with the Angels, appearing in 54 games and batting .216 with 12 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, and 17 runs batted in.
“[We’ve] been staying in touch the whole offseason, [and] this was a natural fit for our team,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said. “We are happy to have him back. He was a major piece to what we did last year offensively.
“I know we’ve lost a little bit of firepower in the home run department. He certainly adds that back for us, especially against lefties. But he played really well for us down the stretch in all phases. I think it continues to build out the depth of the roster for us.”
Grichuk enjoyed a strong 2024 season with the D-backs, hitting .291/.348/.528 with 12 home runs in 279 plate appearances, earning 2.2 bWAR — his best since 2018.
Limited to a platoon role with Joc Pederson, Grichuk primarily faced left-handed pitching, posting a .914 OPS against southpaws.
Hazen expects Grichuk’s role this season to be similar to the last.
“I think there’s probably a healthy amount of DHing vs. lefties,” Hazen said. “He can certainly spell [Lourdes Gurriel Jr.] vs. lefties and go in the outfield if Gurriel has a day at DH or two. We’ll probably mix and match that around and certainly we know how much of a weapon he was as a pinch-hitter, so there’s going to be plenty of opportunity for that, too.”
The 33-year-old was drafted 24th overall by the Angels in 2009, signed a $2 million deal with Arizona in February, and earned an additional $1.25 million in performance bonuses.
After starting the 2024 season on the injured list while recovering from right ankle surgery, he made his Diamondbacks debut on April 6. Grichuk started 35 games in right field, 15 as a designated hitter, and 11 in left field.
