Eying World Series, Randal Grichuk feels there’s ‘no better place to do it’ than Yankees

It may’ve taken Randal Grichuk longer than expected to find a new home in free agency, but the veteran outfielder is happy with how things played out. 

Grichuk, of course, landed with the Yankees on a minor league deal late last week. 

He revealed on Sunday that New York was one of his most aggressive suitors over the winter, but the thing that drew him to the Yankees the most was their status as a World Series contender. 

“I’m glad it worked out the way it did,” he told Greg Joyce of the NY Post. “I know it’s getting late in my career, at this point I'm more towards the end than the beginning and I want to win -- there’s no better place to do it.”

Grichuk’s been to the playoffs just three times over his 12-year big-league career. 

While the 34-year-old is coming off one of his worst offensive showings to this point, he still feels there were signs that could lead to a bounce back at the plate. 

"The underlying metrics were still there," the slugger said. "Barrels went up. Exit velo went up. Swing and miss went down. All of that stuff stayed similar or went up -- I know it’s balls in play, a lot of luck is involved. 

"The baseball card numbers weren’t there, but the underlying metrics made me feel good -- hopefully the baseball card numbers will look a bit better this year."

The Yanks are certainly hoping the same.

While Grichuk is a bit behind in camp having just arrived on Sunday, he seems to have an inside track for the team’s fourth outfielder spot with career-long success against left-handed pitching. 

Jasson Dominguez is also in the mix for the spot with his strong start on the spring, but he's struggled in that area in the majors and the team has already stated that they feel he'd be better off receiving consistent playing time. 

Grichuk, on the other hand, has taken kindly to being more of a platoon player after adjusting to the role. 

“It was tough in the beginning because I had never been in that type of role,” the veteran admitted. “It’s not an easy role, but it’s one that’s gotta be done -- if you can do it mentally, I think it’s a pretty good role to be in."

He is a career .268 hitter with a .819 OPS against opposing southpaws.