Blue Jays: Things to keep an eye on in Spring Training

Randal Grichuk

He may not be the worst player in the world, but the fact is that Randal Grichuk has not been very good. In each of the last two full MLB seasons (2019,2020), Grichuk has finished dead last in the American League in on-base percentage and is coming off a season where he posted a career-low 89 OPS+ in 149 games and 545 plate appearances.

While a transition to being the team’s fourth outfielder could help him out, there are plenty of other players who would love to take his roster spot. Couple that with the Blue Jays reported interest in Kyle Schwarber, Grichuk has a lot riding on a strong Spring Training Performance. I would expect to see him getting some decent playing time this spring, to see what value he can bring to the team as their fourth outfielder and potential DH.

Grichuk is generally a pretty reliable fielder, despite finishing in the 30th percentile in outs above average in 2021, but given how much the Jays use ninth-inning defensive substitutions in the outfield, he’ll need to show that he can provide value there. He’ll also obviously need to show that he can get on base because as I mentioned before, he hasn’t been very good at that.

Out of all the Blue Jays vets, I would expect Grichuk to have to most pressure on him to perform in Spring Training since his job could depend on it. It wouldn’t be all that shocking if the Blue Jays found a trade partner for him either, especially because there likely isn’t much playing time waiting for him in Toronto in 2022 barring injury.