Ex-Blue Jays' fan favourite designated for assignment by the Yankees after brutal start

The New York Yankees attempted to bolster their bench and outfield depth with the signing of Randal Grichuk this past offseason. They gave him a minor league contract, and he wound end up impressing enough during Spring Training such that he ultimately made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster. As a former fan favourite of the Toronto Blue Jays, fans were undoubtedly excited to see him return to playing in the American League East division for the coming year.

However, just one month into the MLB regular season, Grichuk has now been designated for assignment by New York following an underwhelming start to his 2026 campaign. In 16 games to date, Grichuk is hitting just .194 with a .535 OPS, along with eight runs scored, four doubles, zero home runs, two RBIs with 10 strikeouts in 31 total at-bats.

Former Toronto outfielder Randal Grichuk didn’t last long in New York

The Yankees needed to make room for top pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez, who was making his MLB debut on Wednesday (Apr. 29) for New York. Grichuk’s struggles made him an easy target for the Yankees to remove from their 40-man roster.

The 34-year-old actually had his best MLB season's during his time with Toronto. That included a stellar 2019 campaign in which Grichuk posted career highs in hits (136), runs scored (75), home runs (31), RBIs (80), walks (35) and total bases (268). His tenure with the Blue Jays would end when he was dealt to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for outfielder Raimel Tapia and prospect Adrian Pinto.

Grichuk had been a valuable bench/platoon player in recent years since leaving Toronto, having played for the Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. Not only had he averaged double digits in home runs and 30+ RBIs during his past three years in the majors, he had also provided steady defense in the outfield with only five errors committed along with 11 outfield assists over that stretch.

However, those valuable contributions both offensively and defensively had been largely absent during his short stint with the Yankees this season. With New York getting much more value from their starting outfielders as well as the surprise production from super utilityman Amed Rosario off the bench, it added to the justification that Grichuk was expendable from their big league roster.

There are probably enough teams that are struggling in the majors right now that would be willing to take a chance on Grichuk. Although, they also have the option of selecting Eloy Jiménez off the Blue Jays' hands as he was just DFA'd to make room for a returning George Springer. Jiménez doesn't have the same defensive abilities as Grichuk does, but he was hitting the ball well with nine hits - albeit all of them singles for the Blue Jays.

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