Grichuk lands in favourable circumstances with Blue Jays

When Randal Grichuk was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, it was the second time he’d been traded, but the experiences weren’t exactly similar.

The first time came in 2013 when the then 21-year-old was shipped from the team that drafted him — the Los Angeles Angels — to the St. Louis Cardinals in a deal involving World Series MVP David Freese.

Five years later, he found himself the biggest name in an offseason deal between playoff contenders.

“When I got traded to St. Louis I was in the minor leagues and hadn’t been up yet and hadn’t had a taste of the big leagues and didn’t know many of the guys,” says Grichuk. “Getting traded to the Blue Jays is a little bit different. Coming in here I knew what my role was going to be, I’d been in the big leagues, played against the guys and knew some of the guys. So, a little bit of an easier transition.”

Not only is Grichuk now better equipped to embrace a change, he’s also landed in a much better situation. In St. Louis he was looking at a murky outfield picture, whereas in Toronto he’s got the right field spot once held by Jose Bautista sewn up tight — something that’s taken “a lot of pressure and stress off” of the move.

Even though he played largely centre with the Cardinals, he’s excited to be making his home in right field, the position where he won a minor-league Gold Glove in 2013.

“Right’s my favourite position,” he said. “When I got the call and talked to Ross and Gibby and they said right field I was very, very pleased because that’s where I feel most comfortable.”

He’s also found himself in a ballpark that should suit his swing.

“I’m excited. I hit my first major-league home run there in 2014 and I’ve heard great things about it,” he said. “The ball flies pretty well there.”

The cherry on tip is having the benefit of lining up alongside a Gold Glove-calibre defender in Kevin Pillar.

“I told somebody earlier in spring he’s going to make my job easier and make me look better,” Grichuk said. “He’s on ESPN every night making highlight reel web gem catches. The jumps and reads he gets on balls and the closing speed is unbelievable. We got to play next to each other in spring and figured out what he can cover and what I can cover and make sure we’re not overlapping too much.”

Grichuk is certainly in a position to succeed despite stumbling out the gate with a .088/.185/.225 line in his first 18 games. Whether he turns it around or not remains to be seen, but there’s plenty of season left to right the ship.

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