The Toronto Blue Jays’ decision to trade outfielder Randal Grichuk is certainly one that New York Yankees fans are celebrating.
On Thursday, the Jays decided to send Grichuk to the Colorado Rockies in a transaction that netted them two players, one of them being MLB outfielder Raimel Tapia.
Tapia is seen as a more traditional backup outfielder, capable of playing center field and showcasing considerable speed, while Grichuk is more of a traditional power hitter.
Toronto has plenty of power hitters, though, so they thought Grichuk, whose 2021 and career on-base percentages were both lower than .300, was expendable.
What does this have to do with the Yankees?
Well, the Jays and the Bombers play almost 20 times a year, and Grichuk has been a beast against the Yanks.
“17 career home runs against the Yankees in 64 games,” The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler tweeted about Grichuk in the last few hours.
17 career home runs against the Yankees in 64 games https://t.co/Ks7bbLaxcX
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 24, 2022
Hitting 17 home runs in 64 games equals to a 43-homer pace over 162 games: that’s a lot!
Grichuk, The Yankees’ Enemy
Grichuk’s overall slash line against the Yankees isn’t overly impressive, at .247/.294/.507, but he does have a solid .801 OPS against them.
After the Baltimore Orioles, a team Grichuk has homered against a whopping 21 times, the Yankees are the second-most frequent client for the right-handed hitting outfielder.
Pitchers in the Bronx are certainly happy he is off to Colorado and they won’t see him again that much.
The Blue Jays lineup, however, remains impressive, perhaps as good as any other unit in MLB except for maybe the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yes, Yankees pitchers won’t have to deal with Grichuk, but there is still Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel, Matt Chapman, and more.
It’s going to be a long season for AL East pitchers.
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