D-backs Connected to Trio of Right-Handed Bats
The Diamondbacks recently signed Joc Pederson to be their regular designated hitter to face right-handed pitching. Pederson has a career .834 OPS against RHP in his career. This will help the D-backs offense mightily as they look to get back to the playoffs. However, Pederson has largely been unplayable against left-handed pitching. In his career, he has just a .622 OPS against them. That still leaves 50-60 games that the Diamondbacks will have to play a different player at DH or in the outfield if Lourdes Gurriel Jr. moves to DH. Combine that with the fact the current fourth outfielder is Jake McCarthy, another left-handed hitter, and it's clear the team still needs another right-handed bat, especially an outfielder.
Thus, it should be no surprise that Mark Feinsand, an MLB insider, has connected the Diamondbacks to a trio of outfielders that all hit right-handed and have a proven track record against left-handed pitching.
One of those names should be quite familiar with Diamondbacks fans. Tommy Pham played the second half of last season with Arizona after being acquired at the Trade Deadline. Pham hit .241/.304/.415/.720 over 50 games. He mostly played at DH and was one of the team's best hitters in the World Series. His veteran leadership helped the D-backs get to the playoffs and get through the gauntlet to reach the World Series. Pham crushed left-handed pitching last season with a .787 OPS and 16 extra-base hits, including nine homers, in 78 games. He's capable against right-handed pitching with a .768 OPS last season. For his career, Pham has a .834 OPS against lefties and a .628 OPS as a DH. One could foresee him doing quite well against lefties even in a DH role.
This would allow him to fill in for any injuries or days needed off. ZIPS projects Pham for a .700 OPS, but one could expect him to finish above that if he mostly faces left-handed pitching. There is the concern that Pham might struggle playing at DH as last year, he had just a .510 OPS in 105 plate appearances at DH. However, with a full Spring Training of prepping for mostly working as a designated hitter, perhaps that would change. He would fit in quite well with the Diamondbacks' clubhouse and coaches. While Pham does have an interesting history involving the infamous slap with Joc Pederson, he proved to be a strong clubhouse presence for Arizona.
While Pham is playable against both arm sides, Grichuk is only playable against left-handed pitching. Grichuk was excellent in 2023 against lefties with a .995 OPS against them, including eight home runs in just 67 games. However, in 113 games against right-handed pitching, he had just a .694 OPS. Thus, he would be constrained should any injuries arise. Grichuk split last season between the Rockies and Angels. While with the Rockies, and perhaps with the aid of the air, he had a .861 OPS and 120 OPS+ in 64 games in his age-31 season. Over 54 games with the Angels, he slumped badly to just a .677 OPS.
The true Grichuk likely lies around his career average OPS of .761. He's hovered around that spot for his entire career, but it should be noted that is mostly due to his play against right-handers. Over his 617 career games against left-handed pitching, Grichuk has a career OPS of .822 with 66 home runs. Another positive sign is that in his 42 career games at DH, Grichuk has a .789 OPS. He's capable of playing all three outfield spots if needed, though he's best suited for right field. ZiPS projects Grichuk for an OPS of .676 in his age-32 season.
Meanwhile, Adam Duvall is coming off an injury-plagued season with the Boston Red Sox. Duvall had a .834 OPS with 24 doubles, 21 home runs and 58 RBI in just 92 games. He's capable of playing all three outfield spots. Duvall has dealt with injuries for two straight seasons, having played just 178 of a possible 324 games. Perhaps a limited role as a lefty-pitching masher and part-time outfielder would allow him to be the most productive he can be.
Last season, Duvall had a .756 OPS against left-handed pitching while a much better.863 OPS against right-handers. Plus, only three of his 21 homers came against left-handers. In an extremely small sample size of four games at DH, he had a .481 OPS. Over his career, Duvall has an OPS of .770 against left-handed pitching in 423 games. He has only been a DH in eight games and in the small sample has just a .655 OPS.
Duvall is entering his age-35 season making him a risk due to his recent injury woes. However, his 119 OPS+ was the highest of the three players and he's a strong power threat. He has 184 career home runs in 10 seasons. Since 2021, he has hit 71 home runs with 207 RBI. Despite that, he had just a 103 OPS+. In 2024, ZIPS projects him to hit 17 home runs in 92 games and have an OPS of .760. That's with an above-average 31.8% strikeout rate projection.
All three players are likely to get a one-year deal with the potential for a team or mutual option to guarantee some more money for them. They would have to accept being in a part-time role that plays 50-70 games this year with the chance for more due to injuries. The bright side is they could ply their craft on the reigning NL Champs. They all have risk and upside with no one player a clear favorite over the other. Duvall has better power. Grichuk is younger and has better recent numbers against lefties. Pham is a former D-back who is proven in the uniform and has been a consistent hitter. With full-squad practices starting in just over a week, answers should come out soon as to who the Diamondbacks will sign to be their fourth outfielder and right-handed designated hitter.
