Trent Grisham Accepts Qualifying Offer From Yankees

Trent Grisham Accepts Qualifying Offer for 2026 with Yankees

Plan B

Now that Grisham will be making $22 million next year, the Yankees suddenly have much less financial freedom than they would have liked to have. It not only makes going after Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger that much more difficult, but also eliminates their chances of getting both, no matter how unlikely that already was. It’s especially frustrating to consider that the odds of Grisham having another year of hitting 34 home runs with an OPS of .812 are very low, and that New York probably won’t be getting $22 million worth of production from him, no matter how good his defense is.

So now, the Yankees must pivot to another plan. They are not new to this, and could actually still have a productive offseason regardless. Just look at last season, when plan A, signing Juan Soto, failed and forced them to turn to plan B, which ended up being the additions Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and Devin Williams, all of whom combined for a 10.4 brWAR compared to Soto’s individual mark of 6.2.

Running it Back

With Grisham returning to the Bronx in 2026, the Yankees’ offseason will probably look much different than it would have had he declined the qualifying offer. But this does not mean that New York can’t field a team that is just as good, if not better, than last year’s. Perhaps Grisham actually will continue to be a force at the plate, too. But for now, it looks like the Yankees will have to figure out what their next course of action will be.