Diamondbacks bring back 203-HR slugger on $5,000,000 contract

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ramping up their preparations as they aim to make a return to the playoffs this year.

They re-signed Randal Grichuk to a one-year, $5,000,000, deal with a mutual clause come 2026. Grichuk has 203 career home runs in 11 MLB seasons.

"The Diamondbacks are re-signing Randal Grichuk, per multiple sources" - @ MLB on FOX

The outfielder had a productive 2024 campaign for the D'backs. Grichuk posted a .291/.341/.528 slash line with an OPS of .875. The 33-year-old also smashed 12 home runs and drove in 46 runs.

Grichuk spent his time scattered through the outfield in 2024. He recorded 43 appearances in right field and registered 14 in left field. This season, manager Torey Lovullo could assign Grichuk to support Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Corbin Carroll and Jake McCarthy in outfield duties.

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Arizona Diamondbacks pose pitching threat in NL West

The newly minted starting rotation of the Arizona Diamondbacks might be flying under the radar on most power rankings. However, they pose a big threat in the stacked National League West.

The team now boasts the talent of former National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes in its ranks. Burnes signed a six-year, $210 million, deal with the club. He brings the ace factor to the starting lineup with his 2.92 ERA and 15-9 record, which he tallied during his Baltimore Orioles stint last year.

All-Star Zac Gallen, who has been the anchor of the team's pitching core, will be called upon to start behind Burnes. Since arriving from Miami in 2019, Zac Gallen has been a fixture in the D'backs starting rotations. He owns a 52-34 record and a 3.32 ERA across 779 innings in his career in the desert.

Another stable starter in the fray is Zac Gallen, the 36-year-old, who started his career for the SK Wyverns of Korea's KBO League, missed a good chunk of the 2024 season after a teres major muscle strain. Nonetheless, he still posted a 5-1 record with a 4.03 ERA last year.

Other names in the Diamondbacks' starting rotation are Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and possibly World Series winning-starter Jordan Montgomery. If the team stays healthy during the year, it would not be farfetched to say that Arizona could mount a challenge against the likes of the Dodgers and Padres in October.