KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals, in an effort to bolster a long-slumbering outfield, have acquired veteran Randal Grichuk from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, the team announced. In exchange, the Diamondbacks received right-handed reliever Andrew Hoffman.
The Royals’ outfield ranks last in the majors in offensive output, with a 64 wRC+, 17 percent worse than the second-worst outfield. Kansas City’s lineup ranks second-last in the majors in runs per game (3.52). Grichuk, who will play for his sixth team, owns a .243/.280/.462 slash line in 186 plate appearances this season.
Source confirms: Royals acquiring OF Randal Grichuk from Diamondbacks. First: @ByRobertMurray.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 27, 2025
The Diamondbacks, perhaps the clearest example of an active seller in the majors, have now moved two position players in the last few days. They previously traded first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners for a pair of pitching prospects. Arizona could also trade third baseman Eugenio Suárez, pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly and others before Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline.
The Royals, meanwhile, took the first game of their doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday on a walk-off home run by Jonathan India. They sit at 51-53, amid a cluster of teams on the periphery of the American League wild-card race.
Royals general manager J.J. Picollo won’t classify his club as either a buyer or a seller, even though Kansas City is under .500. Seth Lugo, the steady anchor of the team’s rotation, has been a popular name to surface in trade rumors, since he could decline a 2026 player option and become a free agent this winter. The addition of Grichuk might illustrate that the Royals have plans to push for a playoff berth in 2025.
They started John Rave, M.J. Melendez and Kyle Isbel in the outfield for the nightcap of their double header after prized rookie Jac Caglianone exited the first game with a hamstring injury.
“It’s very important to us that we keep competing this year,” Picollo said Friday. “That’s why I don’t consider us sellers. When you say ‘seller,’ you’re talking about liquidating. We’re not liquidating.”
Grichuk, who will turn 34 on Aug. 13, has a $5 million mutual option or a $3 million buyout for 2026.
Trade grades
ROYALS: C+
DIAMONDBACKS: B-
This deal was announced as the Royals are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot, while losing by four runs to one of the teams they’re chasing. Grichuk represents a nice addition for a contending team. He’s always hit lefties well and provides a strong veteran presence. The question is whether or not the Royals are contenders. The stakes of this particular trade are low. Giving up reliever Andrew Hoffman isn’t going to bankrupt their farm system. He isn’t even one of MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Royals prospects.
What this trade does do, however, is telegraph Kansas City as buyers when they might not be in a great position to make a postseason run.
FanGraphs puts their playoff odds at 13 percent, and they’re in the middle of a pack of nine teams fighting for three Wild Card spots. Perhaps they view the American League as weak and believe there’s an opportunity to capitalize. Kansas City already traded for Adam Frazier earlier this month, so this seems like a team interested in buying, at least on the margins. There’s still time to trade starter Seth Lugo and others, but it doesn’t appear to be the plan. Grichuk has a mutual option for next season, so Kansas City could be making this acquisition intending to keep him next season.
For Arizona, this trade doesn’t move the needle. Hoffman, 25, could probably immediately slot into a weak Diamondbacks bullpen, as he’s already got a cup of coffee in the big leagues. Hoffman is having a career season, having pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 40 Triple-A innings. Perhaps they see potential to translate that into the big leagues. Grichuk probably wasn’t going to garner a huge return, so a pitcher that can help right now and has years of team control is a fine return. — Sam Blum
(Photo: Justin Berl / Getty Images)
