After the San Diego Padres traded Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees alongside Juan Soto, the outfielder reverted to his old swing that got him to the big leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019.
He had to redefine himself after a .191 batting average in 920 at-bats over his last two seasons with the Padres.
Helping him do that is the support of his new organization.
"The way these guys treat players as an organization is second to none. I always heard about that around baseball. Being able to experience it for the first time, it has been really good. I like the group of guys we have here. It’s a great group. Of course, the history of the Yankees is special to anybody.”
Grishman lost himself while he was with the Padres. He sulked for long periods when he couldn't get hits and heard a lot of the outside noise that didn't believe in him.
“I had to redefine what makes me Trent Grisham more than anything. I had to change my mindset, really. I’ve been down on myself the last two years when I struggled. … I just wasn’t in a great mindset. That’s what I really had to change going into this year – knowing what makes me and going from there.”
But after the trade, he began to find himself again and he believes that he can figure things out at the plate.
“With all the new information in baseball, it’s kind of a war on what’s the right swing, what’s the best swing and I started to listen to all that noise as opposed to being in the cage, knowing myself and knowing what works for me. I [changed my mindset] and went back to what I think is good for me. I’m just going to roll with that.”
With the Yankees, Grishman is expected to be a role player off the bench. He will be looked to for defensive situations late in games which is a new role for a two-time Gold Glove winner.
As for the Padres, they have a big hole in the outfield with the loss of Soto and Grisham. At this stage in the spring, it looks as if they'll be filling it internally.
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