The Kansas City Royals have acquired veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk in a Saturday deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Grichuk, who was in the lineup for the Diamondbacks Saturday night game at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates, was removed from the game after the deal was struck. Television cameras showed the outfielder saying goodbye to his teammates. He was 0-2 before being replaced by Jorge Barrosa in manager Torey Lovullo's lineup.
In return, sources told ESPN that the Diamondbacks acquired 25-year-old rookie right-hander Andrew Hoffmann. The reliever, who has made three appearances this season, has a 3.86 ERA with five strikeouts.
Grichuk entered Saturday's game with a .243 average on the season. As Arizona struggled to stay in contention in the National League, Grichuk had seven home runs and 22 RBIs.
A 33-year-old right-handed bat, Grichuk has been in the majors since breaking in with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014. He has also played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels before landing with Arizona. On the 2021 Blue Jays, Grichuk authored one of his best seasons, finishing with 123 hits, 25 doubles, 22 home runs and 81 RBIs.
The Diamondbacks expect to be one of the more active sellers leading up to Wednesdays' trade deadline. Earlier this week, the Seattle Mariners acquired first baseman Josh Naylor from Arizona in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Brandyn Garcia and right-handed pitching prospect Ashton Izzi.
