The Royals announced Monday that outfielder Randal Grichuk declined his half of a $5MM mutual option. He'll be paid a $3MM buyout and return to free agency. Grichuk, 34, was acquired from the Diamondbacks prior to the trade deadline in a deal that sent reliever Andrew Hoffmann back to Arizona. He'd been in the midst of a roughly average year at the plate and came to Kansas City with a strong track record of pummeling left-handed pitching.