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Oct 1, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) celebrates his double against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning of game two of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Yankees Should Be Cautious in Keeping Trent Grisham

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 9:45 AM ET

Trent Grisham had an unbelievable year for the New York Yankees. He was a throw-in for the Michael King and Juan Soto swap a year earlier, and didn't get much time in the field for his first year in the Bronx. Instead, manager Aaron Boone opted to pencil in Alex Verdugo until the literal wheels fell off on the season, and he was the final out of the World Series.

Grisham took full advantage of his playing time this year, without Verdugo standing in his way on the outfield depth chart. He had a career high in homers, RBI, walks, and WAR by both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference, and, for the first time in his career, had an OPS north of .800 since the pandemic-shortened season. It was his highest in a full season since his .740 OPS in 2021.

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The $22 Million Question

With the conclusion of the 2025 World Series, Grisham is one of the questions the Yankees have. Is it worth retaining their breakout slugger? For NorthJersey.com, Pete Caldera named Grisham as one of his seven free agent candidates the team should make a run at.

"Here's the $22 million question," Caldera wrote, referencing the price of this off-season's qualifying offer. "As their own free agent, do the Yankees extend Grisham, 29, that qualifying offer? And would he accept it, playing at a high one-year salary instead of shopping for a multi-year deal elsewhere? Bellinger isn't subject to a QO, having previously received one. By extending it to Grisham, the Yanks have a safety net at center field if he accepts."

The qualifying offer may deter teams from committing to Grisham if the Yankees decide to use it on him. There's a lot of risk with signing an outfielder with his profile to a multi-year deal.

For one, at the age of 29 and after 2,831 plate appearances in the big leagues, Grisham finally had his breakout year. It will likely give pause to any GM considering an acquisition of him, wondering whether it's worth handing over the money and years to a player who has only done this once, while also losing a draft pick in the process.

The positive of Grisham, as far as his bat is concerned, is that the numbers under the hood do tell the story of a player who didn't have a fluke year. A 91.1 Average Exit Velocity and 14.2% barrel rate are both career highs.

The downside to Grisham is that his defense lagged statistically. Regarded as one of the best center fielders while with the San Diego Padres, Grisham's -11 DRS and -3 OAA are both career lows.

Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Proceed With Caution

The Yankees' decision to bring Grisham back will be contingent on his acceptance of the qualifying offer, or, if teams are cautious about making a financial commitment to him, fearing a return to the mean and believing this season was an outlier, he could circle back to New York and find a deal that works for both parties.

What the Yankees shouldn't do is go into a bidding war for Grisham if a team is willing to meet his needs in the open market. Not only should they be cautious that 2025 is a one-hit-wonder type of year for their former center fielder, but those defensive metrics are ugly. If his bat isn't to par, and his defensive metrics continue to sink, they will be stuck with a player who brings little to both sides of the ball for multiple years. They just went through this with DJ LeMahieu.

In the case of Grisham, the Yankees should display patience and see how his market turns out. It will be interesting to see what type of offers are available to him after the year he had.

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