Arizona Diamondbacks trade former Toronto Blue Jays slugger to the Kansas City Royals

The deal went down between the two clubs according to a report from Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that right-hander Andrew Hoffmann is headed to Arizona in exchange for Grichuk's services.

Grichuk, 34 next month, is a veteran of 12 MLB seasons who has spent the past two years in Arizona.

While he played mostly center field for the Cardinals and Blue Jays in his younger days, more recently Grichuk has fashioned a role for himself as a corner outfielder who primarily chips in against left-handed pitching.

That's certainly a piece the Royals could make use of, as they've gotten the least production from their outfield in the majors by measure of wRC+ (64) and fWAR (-2.4) this year.

Kansas City has also been well below average (74 wRC+) against left-handed pitching this year; only six teams have been less productive at the dish against opposing southpaws.

The Royals are relying on an outfield mix of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and John Rave this year with MJ Melendez and Tyler Tolbert occasionally chipping in as well. Tolbert's 77 wRC+ leads that quintet of players as things stand, meaning that even as Grichuk's production has dipped substantially this year he'll still be a major upgrade for the Kansas City offense.

Grichuk is hitting .243/.280/.462 with a wRC+ of 99 in 186 plate appearances this year. That jumps up to a 102 wRC+ when looking at his work against lefties, which should be more than enough to make him a regular fixture of the club's lineup against southpaws.

While Arizona's crowded outfield mix means that Grichuk only saw token usage against right-handers during his time with the Diamondbacks, the Royals' weak outfield mix and Grichuk's decent 92 wRC+ could mean an uptick in playing time for the veteran against same-handed pitchers as well.