As the White Sox have struggled to solve right field over the past decade, there's been a class of mercenary platoon outfielders who had somehow avoided being signed by them, despite so many signs pointing them in the direction of the South Side.
Kole Calhoun retired without fulfilling his destiny, and Joc Pederson has managed to stave off Chicago thus far, but Randal Grichuk is no longer among them. As FanSided's Robert Murray first reported and Sox Machine has confirmed, the White Sox have signed Grichuk and are adding him to the major league roster in advance of the start of their series against the Angels in Anaheim tonight.
Grichuk, 34, was designated for assignment by the Yankees last Wednesday, and elected free agency two days later. He joined New York on a minor league contract worth $2.5 million if he made the team, but while he accomplished that much out of spring training, he hit just .194/.212/.323 over 16 games and 33 plate appearances, even though 23 of them came against lefties.
Grichuk was an above-average platoon bat as recently as 2024 with the Diamondbacks, is a career .268/.318/.498 hitter against southpaws, and managed to parlay an average season in 2025 into a late-July trade to the outfielder-starved Royals. But that portion of his career was a flop -- he hit .206/.267/.299 over 105 plate appearances -- and he had to settle for a non-guaranteed contract in the winter.
That said, he's found at least one more chance -- and one more contract above the league minimum, as this one is worth $1.25 million -- because the White Sox have a pretty patchy lineup against left-handed pitchers.
Austin Hays was supposed to be that guy, but he's returning to the injured list with a left calf strain, which makes it the third consecutive year he's missed time by pulling upper and lower leg muscles, and it's barely May. He joins Everson Pereira on the shelf, Luisangel Acuña's White Sox career has gotten off to the shakiest of starts, and although Korey Lee pulled off some well-rounded heroics on Sunday, there isn't a right-handed outfielder in Charlotte who fits the bill.
In order to accommodate Grichuk, the White Sox moved Tanner Murray and his dislocated/fractured shoulder to the 60-day injured list.
