The Yankees will be selecting outfielder Randal Grichuk‘s contract, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including the New York Post’s Greg Joyce) that Grichuk has made the Opening Day roster. New York has a full 40-man roster, so another transaction will be required to add Grichuk before the team’s first game on Wednesday.
In making the team, Grichuk locks in a $2.5MM salary for the 2026 season, as per the terms of the minor league deal he signed last month. Grichuk is an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning that his contract included three standard opt-out dates that he could trigger if not added to the 40-man roster. The first of those opt-outs was set for this weekend, so the Yankees have now sidestepped the issue by adding the outfielder to the 26-man roster.
Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, and Cody Bellinger are set as New York’s starting outfield, and utilityman Amed Rosario and Grichuk now line up as the backup outfield options. (Giancarlo Stanton will probably get some time in the outfield this season, but he will be mostly be utilized as a designated hitter.) Bronx fans may not be pleased at seeing Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones relegated to Triple-A to begin the season, though the Yankees want those prized youngsters playing every day, whereas Grichuk is more suited to the sporadic nature of a big league backup job.
The right-handed hitting Grichuk figures to get most or all of his playing time when a southpaw is on the mound. Grichuk’s numbers against right-handers have tailed off over the years but he remained very dangerous against lefties, apart from a lackluster .227/.273/.430 slash line in 183 PA against left-handers last season when Grichuk was playing with the Diamondbacks and Royals.
Grichuk didn’t erase many doubts this spring by posting only a .313 OPS across 16 plate appearances in Grapefruit League games, but the Yankees are looking past that small sample size (and even the 2025 season) to the 34-year-old’s overall track record. While best suited for a corner outfield role, Grichuk can hold his own as a center fielder, making him a decent choice as a fourth outfielder and a candidate to spell the left-handed hitting Grisham when a lefty is on the mound.
Grichuk will be the only new face in a Yankees position-player mix that is basically unchanged from 2025. Rosario and Paul Goldschmidt were re-signed and will join Grichuk in backup roles, plus Bellinger was re-signed to a five-year, $162.5MM contract and Grisham stayed put by accepting the qualifying offer. Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list, moving Jose Caballero into regular shortstop duty and increasing Rosario’s importance as the backup infielder.
