Trent Grisham Makes Yankees History During Win Against Astros

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 5:41 AM ET

The New York Yankees are embarrassing the rest of MLB in the home run category, and an unexpected center fielder is one of the main reasons why. Trent Grisham is second on the team with 30 homers in 123 games, which is 13 more than his previous career-high.

The 28-year-old only trails generational superstar Aaron Judge, who's fourth in baseball with 43 homers. His latest shot was a three-run, 404-foot blast to right field in the eighth inning of Thursday's 8-4 win over the Houston Astros, which helped shut the door in the series-clinching victory.

The Yankees now have 241 home runs as a team, which is 36 more than the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers. Their power-hitting has helped them stay in the race for the division crown, and Grisham's breakout has given them an extra lift.

Additionally, the veteran entered the franchise record books after his homer on Thursday, via Talkin' Yanks.

Grisham became the seventh center fielder in Yankees history with 30-plus home runs in a season. The 5-foot-10-inch, 221-pounder joins Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Bobby Murcer, Bernie Williams, Curtis Granderson and Judge.

Grisham made a 180-degree turn after last season, when he slashed .190/.290/.385 with nine homers and 31 RBI over 76 games. This year, he's slashing .247/.355/.485 with 64 RBI, and he's 25th in baseball with an .840 OPS.

The San Diego Padres sent Grisham as a salary dump to the Yankees along with star slugger Juan Soto in December 2023, but he's now the one benefiting the team after Soto signed with the New York Mets last offseason. The 2015 No. 15 overall draft pick inked a one-year arbitration deal with the Yankees in November, but they'll have to give him a bigger contract to retain him when he hits unrestricted free agency this winter.

Exactly the kind of lists you expected to see Trent Grisham on back in March pic.twitter.com/2xu6v7j2qU
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 5, 2025

Carlos Rodón Dealing for Yankees

Grisham wasn't the only Yankee to earn an individual accomplishment on Thursday. Starting pitcher Carlos Rodón earned his 16th win of the season, which leads the AL. The southpaw is tied with Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta atop MLB's leaderboard, and is trailed by teammate Max Fried (15 wins) in second place.

Rodón allowed just one run across six innings on Thursday while notching three strikeouts against two walks. The 32-year-old now has a 3.12 ERA, an improvement on last year's 3.96 mark. He also had a 6.85 ERA over 14 starts in 2023, his first season with the Yankees.

Next up for New York is a series opener with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, who it trails by three games for first place in the AL East.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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