Yankees should deal for old tormentor at 2023 trade deadline (to block their rivals)

Plenty of MLB players kill the Yankees. Nobody kills the Yankees like Randal Grichuk.

In 1,048 career games, Grichuk has hit a relatively impressive 176 home runs. No apologies necessary if you undercounted him. We would've, too. That's 0.176 dingers per game. Nothing to sneeze at, but not Bondsian (a ridiculous .255 for Barry).

Against the Yankees? 17 bombs in 65 games. .262 dingers per game. Better than the all-time MLB record-holder -- and, for the record, Grichuk is even better against the Orioles, crushing a hilarious 21 homers in 57 games.

Since Danny Jansen won't be available at this year's trade deadline, and since the Yankees need a left fielder, they should probably focus on obtaining Grichuk, now with the Rockies. His .351 average (clear career-high) and 132 OPS+ (just below his rookie season) are going to make some contender very happy. He was mentioned by The Athletic's insiders as a potential target for Brian Cashman this summer. And, if he goes anywhere other than the Bronx, those numbers are going to make the Yankees very miserable. Book that.

Could Grichuk come back down to earth from his current highs? Sure. More likely than not. Can the Yankees afford to risk him returning to his norms rather than continuing to be scorching when they face off against him? Nope.

Yankees need to trade for Randal Grichuk for protection

Grichuk debuted late this season and still hasn't found his power stroke (a singular home run in his first 25 games, which might as well be negative seven homers, considering he plays in Colorado). But if you think he wouldn't be the perfect Astros target, as Michael Brantley continues to struggle to recuperate, you're lying to yourself.

He's already been a Blue Jay. That would be a nice way for them to counteract a disappointing Daulton Varsho season. Do the Red Sox need extra outfielders? Not really. Would you still shiver a little if you saw they landed Grichuk? Doy.

Maybe the Orioles will be motivated to prevent him from unfairly targeting them down the stretch, and will pull the trigger on a deal.

The Yankees have gotten this far without filling their left field gap with an external addition, and might try to make it to October without doing so, especially if Giancarlo Stanton earns more outfield reps down the stretch. Still, if they opt out of trading for Grichuk at the end of July, they'd better hope he lands somewhere relatively harmless like Los Angeles or the NL Central.