Blue Jays: Randal Grichuk Finally Snaps Historic Slump

After being acquired in an offseason trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, right fielder Randal Grichuk has dropped the ball (no pun intended) at the plate, striking out at an alarming rate, and suffering defeat after defeat at the dish.

With the Blue Jays up 7-1 in the top of the ninth on a misty night in Baltimore, Randal Grichuk laced a ringing double to deep centre field, snapping a historically terrible 0-26 slump. The slump, which is one of the longest in franchise history, caused Grichuk’s average to fall to a terrifying .059.

After a grand slam off the bat of Josh Donaldson extended the lead over the Orioles to 7-1, Grichuk looked visibly nervous as he stepped into the box, despite the ridiculously low stakes of the plate appearance. He then proceeded to crush a Nestor Cortes Jr. fastball over Adam Jones’ head for a screaming two-bagger.

When he got to second, Grichuk half-jokingly glanced at the sky, thanking the heavens for a long overdue end to his agonizing offensive struggles. All in all, he’s slashed .059/.132/.147 so far this season, good enough (or bad enough) for a -0.5 WAR and an unprecedented -26 wRC+.

More from Jays Journal

• Who Should the Blue Jays Extend First: Guerrero, Bichette or Manoah?
• Blue Jays now hold the top Wild Card spot, and yes that’s a good thing
• Blue Jays may have the tools to use a Bullpen Day
• Blue Jays win important first game after Bichette’s late inning heroics
• Blue Jays: Garcia is the best free agent signing from this past off-season

During the first series of the year, he batted primarily 5th and 6th in the lineup, but has since seen his position drop to the bottom three in the lineup.

The double is Grichuk’s third hit of the season, his first being a solo home run in the opening series against the New York Yankees. This season, he has 13 strikeouts and just three walks.

The Jays dugout was clearly very pleased, applauding the Rosenberg, Texas native as he sheepishly approached the bench. While he’s been solid defensively, it’s been a bit painful watching him look rather hopeless with the bat.

With this behind him, Randal Grichuk can focus on working his way up the batting order, hopefully regaining trust in his manager and solidifying a spot at the heart of the order. Until then though, he’ll have to pay his dues in the eight hole, trying to have quality at-bats and not trying to do too much on offense.

Next: A Morales DL stint may not be so bad