Sep 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) catches a fly ball during the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Yankees Facing Huge Price for Star Outfielder

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Sep 20, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The New York Yankees' outfield, which is among the best position groups in MLB, could look a lot different next season.

Cody Bellinger appears set to decline his $25 million player option and hit free agency, where Trent Grisham will join him after a career year in The Bronx.

Traded to the Yankees alongside Juan Soto by the San Diego Padres in December 2023, Grisham hit just .190/.290/.385 with nine home runs over 209 plate appearances in his first season with the team.

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

This year has been an entirely different story, however. Grisham, who coming the year had a career OPS of .697 and was primarily known for his stout defense in center field, has become a well above-average hitter with a .238/.347/.474 slash line, 33 home runs, 71 RBIs and a 130 wRC+ across 545 trips to the plate.

As one of the top impending position player free agents, the New York Post's Jon Heyman noted that Grisham is in line for quite the pay bump this winter.

"Trent Grisham, 33 homers for $5 million, is one of the better deals going," Heyman wrote. "As a free agent, he’ll get an enormous raise, of course."

Spotrac currently projects that Grisham's market value is a four-year deal worth a total of $47,648,824, which comes out to an average annual value of $11.912 million.

Considering his offensive production in 2025 is an anomaly, it's become rather tough to truly estimate what type of contract the 28-year-old could garner. Though his defensive metrics have taken a nose dive this season (-10 Defensive Runs Saved, -1 Outs Above Average), he's a two-time Gold Glover who is still viewed as a plus with the glove.

Grisham's underlying offensive metrics suggest that his numbers at the plate aren't a mirage either, as he's sporting an elite 14.6 percent barrel rate, .518 expected slugging percentage (xSLG) and .380 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) all while walking 13.6 percent of the time.

It's unlikely the Yankees will decide to pay both him and Bellinger, as they have Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez in their future plans while also potentially planning a pursuit of Kyle Tucker in free agency, but Grisham is well-deserving of a hefty raise this offseason.

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