Toronto Blue Jays and the Randal Grichuk conundrum

The Toronto Blue Jays have a little bit of an outfield conundrum brewing with Randal Grichuk and his hefty salary possibly the odd man out.

The 29-year old is set to earn $10,333,334 million for the next three seasons, however, his role with the club is somewhat unclear with the addition of George Springer. Grichuk manned centerfield out of necessity last season but that will not be the case in 2021 with the $150 million dollar man in the fold.

That essentially leaves two corner outfield spots for Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Grichuk and Hernandez could share the designated hitter responsibilities but that may be absorbed by the platoon of Rowdy Tellez and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. if Tellez continues to produce like he did last season.

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These things have a tendency to work themselves out with injuries and underperformance but for now the outfielder may be on the outside looking in. The monetary figure attached to Grichuk is a large amount of cake to have plunked on the bench.

Grichuk was very serviceable last season hitting .273/.312/.481 with 12 homers in 55 games, he has swatted 43 homers over the past two seasons which is no small feat. However, Hernandez has earned and everyday role even if Grichuk may provide a little better defence than that of Teo.

The former first round selection would be the obvious choice to move in a trade scenario but the return would not be as substantial of that from Gurriel or Hernandez. If Grichuk was dealt, Jonathan Davis could slide into a fourth outfielder role providing speed off the bench late in games.

Thus far this spring, Grichuk is hitting just .143 with a home run in 17 Grapefruit League plate appearances . We should have some clarity on the outfield plan moving forward in a couple weeks but for now all we can do is speculate.

So what would you do with Grichuk and if you think he should remain in the fold, who is the odd man out in Blue Jays outfield? Let me know in the comments below.