Blue Jays free agent target: Trent Grisham

There aren’t a whole lot of quality bats available this off-season.

The good news for the Toronto Blue Jays is that their biggest needs in the lineup, second base and a corner outfielder, does have some quality options. But what about centre field?

After acquiring Brett Bateman before the 2026 trade deadline, the rookie had a great run, with his emergence helping the Jays back into the playoff discussion. A big question heading into next season is whether or not the 24-year-old is ready to become the every day player at a crucial position.

If not, a centre fielder like Trent Grisham could be of interest for the lone Canadian team.

Trent Grisham’s profile

Throughout his career, Grisham has been a league average hitter in terms of wRC+. In 2020, he finished with 10 home runs in 252 plate appearances for a 122 wRC+, taking home the Gold Glove. He finished with a 104 wRC+ the following season, and won a Gold Glove in 2022, his penultimate season with the San Diego Padres. Every other season he’s played in has seen the 29-year-old left-handed outfielder finish with a wRC+ below average.

That was except for the 2025 season, essentially the reason why Grisham is of any note this free agency. In 143 games with the New York Yankees, he slashed .235/.348/.464 with a career-high 34 home runs, good for a 128 wRC+. Following the Yankees defeat to the Blue Jays in the 2025 American League Divisional Series, Grisham was offered a qualifying offer, which he accepted.

Even though the Yankees finished with the second-best record in the American League yet again, Grisham wasn’t the reason why. In 121 games with the Bronx Bombers, Grisham slashed just .211/.308/.395 with 18 home runs in 484 plate appearances, good for a 98 wRC+ and 0.7 fWAR. It was the lowest fWAR of his career in any season where he appeared in 100 or more games.

Grisham has never hit for a high average, sitting with a .217 career batting average in his eight seasons. That thanks in large part to three consecutive seasons batting under the Mendoza Line from 2022 until 2024. One area of improvement in recent seasons with the bat is limiting his strikeout rate, as it sat above 27.3 percent in all three of those seasons, but sat at a career-best 18.4 percent mark in 2026.

Without factoring in defence, Grisham would be a good buy low candidate, but those two Gold Glove wins are long in the past. In 961.1 innings in centre field last season, Grisham finished with -8 Defensive Runs Saved, -6 Outs Above Average, and -5 Fielding Run Value. It’s been a steady decline from his last Gold Glove award in 2022, including a career-worst -11 DRS in 2025.

A solid, albeit not perfect, comparison is Daulton Varsho. Like Grisham, Varsho has had his issues with strikeouts and has never hit for a high-average, while also hitting around 20 home runs. However, Varsho is a better defender and takes far fewer walks than Grisham.

As a left-handed hitter, the fit mixed with the profile probably isn’t worth it for the Blue Jays, especially with the decline in defence. Bateman is an above average hitter who hits for a high average and provides above-average speed for league minimum. Spending whatever money they would on Grisham should instead be used to bring in a corner outfield bat with pop, like Randy Arozarena or Teruaki Satō.