Grichuk goes unclaimed on waivers year after leaving Blue Jays: report
Randal Grichuk has done quite a bit of moving since the Toronto Blue Jays decided to move on from him two offseasons ago.
But it appears he’s staying put for now.
Placed on waivers by the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week, Grichuk went unclaimed by the 29 other teams, as per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Outfielder Randal Grichuk was not claimed on waivers.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 31, 2023
That’s hardly the type of job confidence you’d want as a 32-year-old major league veteran.
Set to be a free agent this summer in the final year of a five-year deal originally signed by Toronto, he would have been eligible for the playoff roster had a new team claimed him, as he’s now set to stay in Los Angeles.
But Grichuk being waived was actually part of one of the weirdest front-office moves we’ve seen in some time.
Not only was Grichuk placed on waivers, so were four of his teammates at the same time: pitchers Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore, and Reynaldo LĆ³pez ā who all went to Cleveland ā and outfielder Hunter Renfroe, who went to Cincinnati.
Spending four seasons with Toronto from 2018-2021 after starting his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, Grichuk was traded to the Colorado Rockies prior to the 2022 season for outfielder Raimel Tapia and minor league infielder Adrian Pinto.
The Rockies again moved Grichuk this July to the Angels, when he was sent alongside C. J. Cron in exchange for minor league pitchers Jake Madden and Mason Albright.
Toronto moved on from Tapia this offseason (who has spent time with both Boston and Milwaukee), while Pinto remains in Toronto’s system but has split his time between the Single-A and Florida Complex League levels.
During his tenure in Toronto, Grichuk put up a batting average of .243 with 422 hits, 90 homers, 257 RBIs and 232 runs scored in 479 games for the Blue Jays in his career.
Grichuk is batting .262 with 222 hits, 31 homers, 108 RBIs and 110 runs scored in 232 games since the start of 2022.
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