After sports hernia surgery slowed his off-season routine last season, Randal Grichuk had been looking forward to getting after his speed training this year. As it turns out, he was once again delayed in his training–this time due to a scope on his left knee to remove some floating cartilage.

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“I feel good–I had a small, minor procedure done on my knee earlier this season so kind of pushed things back a little bit,” shared Grichuk during his media session at the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Sunday.

St. Louis Cardinals Randal Grichuk makes leaping catchAdmitting that it bothered him “a good amount”, Grichuk wasn’t exactly sure when the discomfort began.

“Honestly, I don’t remember when it first started hurting but I remember getting treatment done early May, end of April,” he said. “Pretty much got treatment throughout the year.”

“There was a lot going on, I felt like there was clicking, soreness, tightness just kind of pain throughout the year so it was good to get that looked at at the end of the year and cleared up.”

So how big an impact was the knee on his play–in particular, something like lateral movement?

“That’s a tough question to answer,” said Grichuk, after a pause. “It definitely bothered me throughout the year. I think it affected me here and there, but it is what it is.”

After a month and a half of rehab, Grichuk is now back to running full speed.

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As he noted, it’s tough for Grichuk to answer how much the knee affected him in the outfield. But the Cardinals made it known heading into the off-season that they were considering an upgrade in centerfield, which resulted in the signing of Dexter Fowler.

“It’s definitely going to help the athleticism in the outfield,” said Grichuk, who will slide over to left. “Bringing in another centerfielder’s great. Helps our lineup. It’s definitely a good sign.”

St. Louis Cardinals Randal GrichukNot since he was paired alongside Mike Trout in Low-A baseball, has Grichuk played alongside another regular centerfielder, but he’s aware of the overall benefit for the team–in particular the lineup.

“It definitely lengthens it out–obviously being able to move Carp out of leadoff spot and have a true leadoff guy in there, that’s going to be fun to see,” he said. “Who knows, I feel like I could be anywhere thrown in there so we’ll see what Mike (Matheny) comes up with.”

In 2016, Grichuk hit cleanup for the Cardinals in 15 games but averaged  just .164 in the spot. With his power, he is again a candidate to bat fourth the team, which brings no worries.

“Definitely not,” he confirmed. “I think last year I kind of changed a little bit at the beginning of the year and that’s why I struggled a little bit. I think I went out of my approach and who I am at the plate–tried to feel a little bit too much for the ball. Regardless of where I hit last year, I think I’m going to go with the same approach as last year in the last month and really just go out there and let it fly. See a good pitch and try to hit it.”

Over his final 48 games of last season, Grichuk hit 12 of his 24 home runs and drove in 33 runs in 178 at-bats.

So whether he’s in left field or the middle of the order, Grichuk is focusing on an overall approach to his game.

“I’m working hard with speed work and getting good routes and good jumps to be that best outfielder I can be and that’s regardless of where I play my whole career moving forward.”

photo credit: St. Louis Baseball Weekly, Bill Greenblatt/UPI