It’s pretty clear where the Cleveland Guardians need to improve their roster. The outfield has underachieved over the last few seasons, and the Guardians have struggled against left-handed pitching, with few right-handed bats on the roster.
Cleveland’s best chance at solving both of these issues could come via a trade or signing a player on the open market. Thankfully for the Guardians, there is one free agent on the market that could help solve both issues: Randal Grichuk.
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Grichuk had a largely underwhelming 2025 season, registering an overall slash line of .228/.273/.401, including nine home runs during his time split between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals.
That said, there was one area where the 34-year-old excelled, and that was mash left-handed pitching. Grichuk finished last year with a .818 OPS against southpaws.
With how heavy Cleveland’s roster is with left-handed hitters, and how much the team struggled against left-handed pitchers last season, Grichuk’s addition as a platoon bat would be more than welcome.
Jul 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Randal Grichuk (15) fields a fly ball against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
The challenge the front office will face this offseason when contemplating upgrades is how to improve the roster without taking opportunities away from young, promising players such as Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and CJ Kayus.
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That said, with the majority of Grichuk’s success coming off lefties, and most of the young players being left-handed hitters, he wouldn’t take away many, if any, at-bats from the young core.
Cleveland could use Grichuk strictly against southpaws and would get the most out of everyone’s skillset.
Arguably, the biggest factor in Cleveland’s interest in any free agent is how much it’ll take to add them on the roster. Thankfully, Grichuk should easily be in the Guardians’ budget.
Last offseason, the veteran signed a one-year, $5 million deal. While he has his strengths and could still be a valuable player for many MLB rosters, Grichuk didn’t do anything last season that should vastly raise his price on the open market.
With Cleveland having some money come off the books this winter, they should have plenty of cap space to sign Grichuk to a similar deal his offseason.