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Unexpected Juan Soto, Trent Grisham Fact Surfaces After Yankees Game on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 5:46 PM ET

The New York Yankees took a calculated risk by trading for Juan Soto on an expiring contract in December 2023, and he ended up signing the richest sports deal ever with their cross-town rival. However, the Yankees are still benefiting from the situation.

When professional sports teams make trades, they sometimes include unwanted players to make it work financially. In this case, the San Diego Padres sent fellow outfielder Trent Grisham as a salary dump to New York along with Soto in exchange for right-handed pitchers Michael King, Jhony Brito, and Randy Vásquez, as well as catcher Kyle Higashioka and prospect Drew Thorpe.

Grisham was brutal in his first season with the Yankees last year, slashing just .190/.290/.385 with nine homers and 31 RBI over 76 games. The veteran also didn't play in the playoffs. But 2025 is a different story.

Soto signed with the New York Mets in the offseason after helping the Yankees win their first pennant since 2009, but Grisham inked another one-year deal to avoid arbitration. The latter player is now having a career season, slashing .248/.353/.471 with 26 homers and 51 RBI over 116 contests.

Grisham's most recent homer was a leadoff shot to right to kick off the Yankees' 11-2 win vs. the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. USA Today's Bob Nightingale compared the 28-year-old to Soto after the contest on social media.

"Juan Soto hit 41 homers in 576 at-bats for the Yankees last season after being traded by the Padres," he said. "Trent Grisham has hit 35 homers in 578 at-bats for the Yankees after being traded by the Padres. They were in the same trade, only Soto was wanted and Grisham was a salary dump."

San Diego still did well in the trade too, as King is now its ace and Vásquez has a 3.96 ERA in 23 appearances this season. Still, Grisham gives the Yankees surprise value after initially being an afterthought.

Juan Soto hit 41 homers in 576 at-bats for the Yankees last season after being traded by the Padres.
Trent Grisham has hit 35 homers in 578 at-bats for the Yankees after being traded by the Padres.
They were in the same trade, only Soto was wanted and Grisham was a salary dump.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 27, 2025

How Do Juan Soto and Trent Grisham Compare This Season?

Soto is playing better for the Mets than Grisham is for the Yankees, but their production relative to their salaries is a different story. The former is slashing .251/.390/.492 with 32 homers and 78 RBI over 130 games on a $61.9 million salary, while the latter player is making just $5 million.

Additionally, Soto has a 4.6 WAR against Grisham's 3.1, meaning that he's only adding 1.5 more wins to his team than the 2015 first-round pick despite getting paid 12.4 times as much. The Yankees must give Grisham a raise if they want to keep him this offseason, but they're getting more value out of him right now than the Mets are with Soto.

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

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