5:05pm: The Sox made it official, announcing that they have signed Grichuk. Hays goes on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 2nd, due to a left calf strain. Murray has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.
3:02pm: The White Sox and outfielder Randal Grichuk are in agreement on a major league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Sox will need to make corresponding moves to open space for the Paragon Sports International client on the active and 40-man rosters.
Grichuk elected free agency just three days ago after being designated for assignment by the Yankees. The 34-year-old had broken camp on a minor league contract to work in a short side platoon role. He was essentially the last man on Aaron Boone’s bench and took more than two-thirds of his 33 plate appearances versus lefty pitching.
Despite the favorable matchup deployments, Grichuk didn’t hit over his scattered playing time. He batted .194 without a home run while striking out 10 times. He worked one walk and had a .212 on-base mark. Grichuk didn’t perform especially well against left-handed pitching last season either, batting .227/.273/.430. He was among the best hitters in MLB against southpaws from 2022-24, however, destroying them at a .317/.367/.573 clip. He connected on 25 homers, 34 doubles and four triples in just under 500 trips against lefties over those three years.
Grichuk hasn’t played center field in three seasons and has been a well below-average hitter against righty pitching. It’s a limited profile but one the Sox feel comfortable carrying on their bench. They lost right fielder Everson Pereira to the injured list last week with a pectoral strain. Jarred Kelenic was selected onto the MLB roster in his stead and is out to a 1-6 start over three games. The lefty-hitting Kelenic and right-handed Austin Hays — a similar player to Grichuk — are dividing right field work.
The White Sox could create a 40-man roster spot for Grichuk by transferring Tanner Murray to the 60-day injured list. However, they may need to designate someone for assignment given their lack of active roster flexibility.
Backup catcher Drew Romo is the only player on Will Venable’s bench who has minor league options. They’re presumably not going to move on from Hays a month into a $6MM free agent deal. Andrew Benintendi isn’t performing but is signed through 2027 and remains the team’s leadoff man. Rookie left fielder Sam Antonacci is playing too well to option out.
Luisangel Acuña has been ice cold to begin the season, but he headlined Chicago’s return for Luis Robert Jr. over the offseason. They haven’t made the same investment in Kelenic, an offseason minor league signee, or September waiver claim Derek Hill. Hill has decent numbers this season but has struck out 14 times in 44 plate appearances and has only started 10 of the first 34 games.
