Yankees Newest Pickup Could Be Due Resurgent Season

The New York Yankees were on the hunt for a right-handed bat all winter. The slugger they landed on was a longtime veteran and former member of the Toronto Blue Jays, who had always been a thorn in their side: Randal Grichuk.

Mar 22, 2022; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Randal Grichuk (15) hits a grand slam in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees during spring training at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Grichuk was signed to a minor league deal, and maybe a few years ago the move would have felt more impactful, but last season he had a career-low 82 wRC+ and -.4 WAR, according to Fangraphs. If Grichuk makes the team, the Yankees hope he still has something left in the tank and that 2025 was an outlier.

If you were to ask Grichuk how he feels, he'd say he's good with what was going on under the hood, and his poor numbers weren't reflective of who he is as a player.

"I felt like I still hit the ball hard," Grichuk said, according to NJ.com's Randy Miller. "I think all my underlying numbers were the same as '24 if not better or a tick down from where they were.

"But all the baseball card numbers obviously weren't good, so it was a frustrating year. There were some things here and there that I think hurt me a little bit, but I felt like I hit the ball hard and that's kind of all I can control."

Underlying Metrics

Grichuk is right about those metrics. It isn't just a player grasping at silver linings.

According to Baseball Savant, Grichuk had a .259 Expected Batting Average and .457 xSLG in 2025. He also made great contact, suggesting he ran into some bad luck last season. Grichuk had a 92.4 MPH Average Exit Velocity, 11.7% Barrel Rate, and a 49.5% hard hit rate.

Grichuk's bat speed was still there, too. He had a 73.9 MPH Average Bat Speed.

Whether that equates to big league success in 2026 is another question entirely. The metrics are impressive, but with veterans, good peripheral data isn't always indicative of future success.

The Yankees saw that firsthand with Josh Donaldson. Donaldson was coming off a great year in his age-35 season, where he had a 126 wRC+. In his first season in the Bronx, he fell to a 96 wRC+. The next season, he had a 78 wRC+ and was cut at the end of the summer to make way for younger talent to get a shot.

Jul 7, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson (28) react after striking out during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Happy to be a Yankee

It's still unclear if Grichuk will even make the big club heading into Opening Day. If he does, it seems like he's honored to be playing for the Yankees.

"It's just weird because when I signed, I talked to my dad," Grichuk said. "I called him and let him know, and he was just like, 'I never thought you'd be Yankee.' I was like, 'I never did either.' I don't know if it's because you put the Yankees higher than everyone else just due to the history kind of thing, but it's still the same game. The guys in the clubhouse still act the same behind closed doors. They still play the same game.

"But the pinstripes feel different. I've always said that when I've gone to New York, I felt like the lights were a little brighter (in the Bronx). That could be actually true, or it could be just because it's Yankee Stadium.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!