San Francisco Giants Reportedly Pursuing Slugger From Division Rival

The San Francisco Giants have made some meaningful upgrades this winter both to the lineup and to the pitching staff, but there’s still work to do.

For a franchise who has missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight years and is continuously hovering around the 80-win mark over the last several seasons, an injection of power to a lineup which plays in a park that obviously favors pitchers could be a massive boost.

Adding former Milwaukee Brewers power-hitting shortstop Willy Adames on the largest contract the Giants have ever given out was a start, but more is needed.

Enter Arizona Diamondbacks free agent mashing outfielder Randal Grichuk.

According to MLB insider Robert Murray, San Francisco has recently engaged in talks with Grichuk’s camp as they look to figure out creative and affordable ways to boost their overall level of offense in the clubhouse.

The fit for Grichuk in the Bay Area could make a lot of sense. For one, the lefty-heavy outfield could use a bit of balance. Grichuk, a right-handed hitter, was absolutely ridiculous against left-handed pitching in 2024 with a .319 batting average, half of his 12 home runs, and 32 of his 46 RBIs.

With Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski both hitting from the left side of the plate, Grichuk could prove to be very useful.

As has been the case for most of his career, Grichuk was used in an as needed specialist type of role for the Diamondbacks, with more than 65% of hit plate appearances coming against left-handed pitching.

He played in 106 games and finished with an average of .291, an OPS of .875, a slugging percentage of .528, and an on-base percentage of .348. The average and on-base percentage were both the best marks of his 11-year MLB career, as was his 16.5% strikeout rate.

At 33 years old and not being used as an everyday player, the most enticing part about Grichuk for a team like the Giants would likely be the cost and commitment.

He declined a $6 million option with Arizona so he is likely looking for more than that, but it’s probably not going to creep much higher than a $10 million AAV, which would be a worthwhile price to pay for the kind of production he had this past season.

If the price is right and Grichuk likes the fit with San Francisco, seeing the team bring him in would not be much of a surprise at all.