Reds' 2026 payroll points to a long-rumored target resurfacing this offseason

The unexpected difference-maker in the Cincinnati Reds’ run to the playoffs was trade deadline acquisition Miguel Andujar. The platoon bat pounded lefties and powered Cincinnati to a Wild Card berth in 2025. If the Reds want to replicate that performance, there’s one free agent who could step into Andujar’s shoes (and then some).

Randal Grichuk has seemed like a perfect fit for the Reds for the past several years due to his ability to man the outfield and to crush left-handed pitching. Since he’s coming off the worst season of his career, now is the perfect time for Cincinnati to sign Grichuk — whose mutual option was declined by the Kansas City Royals — to a bargain deal. 

Once again, Randal Grichuk seems like an ideal fit for the Reds’ outfield

Grichuk has a career OPS of .819 against left-handed pitching. The Reds, meanwhile, had a team OPS of .654 against southpaws in 2025. Not only that, unlike Andujar, Grichuk can still play the field. In fact, he spent more time as a position player than at DH last season.

Grichuk is not the surest glove in the outfield, but his arm strength still lands in the 77th percentile. Other names that have shown up on the Reds’ outfield wishlist (JJ Bleday, for example) aren’t that much better.

Grichuk’s expected statistics reveal him to be a bit of a victim of bad luck in 2025. He made exceptionally loud contact; nearly half of his hits left the bat at 95 mph or greater. His expected slugging percentage was 50 points higher than his actual mark. Playing at Great American Ball Park could shift the winds into Grichuk’s favor. In other words, he’s a good candidate for a bounce-back year if he signs with the Reds.

Best of all, Grichuk will likely come cheap. The Royals took the $3 million buyout rather than shelling out $5 million for him to play in 2026. Spotrac puts his market value around $4 million. Even if Grichuk splits the difference between his actual and expected stats and only starts against lefties, he’d still be one of the more productive bats in the Reds’ lineup. Perhaps now it’s finally time for the Reds to make the obvious move and sign Grichuk.