Yes,but he wont get much more compression. Piston might come up .020 by doing that.Much more offset grinding and he will need chevy size rods on the big end. And then it's not cheap anymore.
I agree that if he is already grinding the crank,offsetting it is a good idea.
Thin head gaskets would help as well,maybe bring the head down another .005 or so.Might luck out and get close to 8.5:1.All depends how deep the pistons are in the bore.