Ryan Garcia
You could make a real argument that no hitter on the Yankees was under more pressure than Trent Grisham entering the 2026 season, as fans are ready to jump all over him if he stumbles.
Jasson Dominguez’s demotion to Triple-A and Spencer Jones’ draft status as a former first-round pick make both players appealling to people who want to see an influx of new young talent.
Despite both existing as outfield options, the Yankees decided to keep Trent Grisham by handing him the one-year $22 million Qualifying Offer, and his slow start certainly intensified conversations around bringing the centerfielder back.
The underlying metrics suggested that his poor OPS and SLG% were a result of unsustainably poor batted ball quality and that his at-bats were much better than the surface-level data indicated.
In a back-and-forth slugfest between the Angels and Yankees, it was Grisham’s heroics and timely turnaround that lifted the team to victory, which has become a core part of his time in the Bronx.
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When the Yankees put together their outfield over the offseason it was Trent Grisham who returned first, and last night’s performance was another example of him elevating this team to a win.
From pinch-hit heroics against the Padres last May to the go-ahead grand slam against the Braves in the midst of a summer swoon, the $22 million centerfielder has helped snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
That doesn’t mean his performance in high-leverage is predictive or sticky, but it does mean that he’s come up big-time for the Yankees and that often gets overlooked in discussions around him.
It seems as if there’s a rush to try and dump Grisham, finding the first moment to justify a swap of him for Jasson Dominguez when there isn’t a justification for such a take.
Having a hitter who makes a ton of contact in-zone, doesn’t expand the strike zone much, and generates tons of power on contact is highly valuable for an offense such as the Yankees’.
Aaron Judge gets to hit behind someone who can ambush a fastball just as well as he can work a walk and get on-base to set-up a difficult matchup for an opposing pitcher.
A poor postseason, which is a seven-game sample size in the case of 2025, is not nearly enough to make any respectable front office change their evaluation of a player significantly.
You don’t like that Trent Grisham is the guy who gets to play every day in centerfield; that doesn’t mean the decision to play him is illogical.
This is an excellent hitter who has figured out the pull-side power in the Bronx and has all of the skills you’d want for your leadoff guy, the first time the Yankees have had one in quite some time.
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