Heading into the non-tender deadline on Friday night, the New York Yankees were widely expected to say goodbye to reserve outfielder Trent Grisham. The former Gold Glover was slated to make about $5.7 million in arbitration and the Yanks, supposedly saving money for Juan Soto, could have moved on from Grisham and saved some bucks.
In a surprising turn of events, the Yankees agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with Grisham. Now, barring a trade, the elite defender will return for another season in 2025.
The fact that the Yankees outfield remained mostly healthy for the vast majority of 2024 prevented Grisham from taking the field much. In 179 at-bats, he hit .190 with nine home runs.
Grisham is flawed but has skills that help the Yankees
In other words, the Yankees witnessed the Grisham experience in 2024: a frustratingly low batting average, considerable home run power, athleticism, and excellent center-field defense.
Those are attributes that should benefit the 2025 Yankees, even if it is in a fourth or fifth-outfielder role.
The fact the Yankees tendered a contract to Grisham actually speaks well about their intentions towards payroll during the off-season. Cutting him would have signaled an attempt to trim some costs, possibly at the expense of having a truly top roster.
Instead, the Yankees are bringing back a dynamic player with flaws, sure, but also with an interesting skill set. Grisham is a career .213 hitter who also happens to have the ability to draw walks at a high rate.
He even had a case to be a starter this past season in the stretch run and the postseason as a superior defender and more dangerous power threat than Alex Verdugo.
Grisham will now compete with Jasson Dominguez and potentially another outfielder from outside the organization for playing time in the Yankees outfield.