February 27, 2021

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

When Toronto signed George Springer to a six-year contract earlier this year, no player in the Blue Jays' organization was impacted more than Randal Grichuk.

Having just turned in a solid season as the Blue Jays’ primary centre fielder in which he hit .273 with the second-highest home run total on the club, Grichuk felt secure about his future when the offseason began.

Then came January 20.

"I understand that if they thought centre field was their major priority, where we needed help, then so be it," explained Grichuk during a Zoom call from Dunedin on Saturday. "I think I played a lot better last year than a lot of people think, if you want to look at the numbers."

In no way was the Blue Jays' move to bring in one of the premier outfielders in the game based solely off his defensive position.

With Springer, the organization landed a dynamic offensive weapon known for his clubhouse leadership and a knack for coming up big in clutch situations. But his injection into the lineup created a ripple effect on those already slated to be part of the club's outfield in 2021.

The first domino to fall was Grichuk.

"They pretty much told me that I'm going to move over to right. That I'm an everyday piece," said Grichuk. "I think right field is my best position anyways, so I think if the situation happens where (George) Springer is in centre, and I'm in right field every day, which it probably won't happen every day, but I think that did make our ball club better on the defensive side of it."

Here's the catch; right field currently belongs to Teoscar Hernandez, who earned his first career Silver Slugger award after posting an OPS of .919 through 50 games in 2020. That figure was good for the highest among all American League right fielders last year, and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which Grichuk unseats him as the starter.

Of course, being in the junior circuit, there's always a chance to see at-bats as a designated hitter.

Seven years into his MLB career, the first four of which came in the National League, Grichuk hasn't spent a lot of time in that role. In 18 games (76 plate appearances) as a DH, he's slashed just .211/.263/.394 with 23 strikeouts against three walks.

"I think it's difficult if you don't do it often," admitted Grichuk, mentioning that he knows other players on the team don't like DHing due to how you're not as heavily involved in the game. "It's definitely something you need to learn and get a feel for."

But there's a wrinkle in that plan, too.

Increased DH at-bats for Grichuk will undoubtedly affect the amount of playing time Rowdy Tellez will see in 2021.

Though he battled a knee issue that limited him to just 35 games last year, Tellez managed to slash .283/.346/.540 while cutting his strikeouts down by 12.7%, the largest drop among all MLB hitters according to Baseball Savant.

With limited options remaining, it wouldn't be impossible to deal Grichuk to a rival organization. But the Blue Jays would likely need to eat a substantial amount of salary if a deal was to be made.

The 29-year-old has three years remaining on the five-year, $52M contract extension he inked ahead of the 2019 season. After factoring in the $1M signing bonus he receives annually, he's set to earn $10,333,333 in each of the final three seasons left on the deal.

For now, Grichuk says that he remains focused on improving the mental side of his game. Understanding that he's competing for playing time this spring, his job will be to drowned out the noise and refine his approach.

"I want to try to be more consistent with the approach and the at-bats on the offensive side,” he said. "I felt like last year I was really good for over half the year, but there was a two to three-week span where I was pretty bad. I think that was just understanding the mindset of it and the approach aspect of not trying to do to much."

- Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)