The New York Yankees will retain outfielder Trent Grisham, who has come off a career year after accepting a qualifying offer worth around $22 million.
The New York Yankees get back an important left-handed bat for the 2026 season.
The Yankees extended a qualifying offer worth a little over $22 million to outfielder Trent Grisham, who posted career high numbers, most notably with 34 home runs.
There was a lot of speculation surrounding Grisham and whether or not he may return to the Bronx, but given the uncertainty around New York retaining Cody Bellinger, Grisham coming back may be a boost.
On the other hand, does Grisham’s return, with that salary, actually hamper the Yankees?
Grisham’s power was only discovered last season. Prior to the 2025 season, Grisham had never reached 20 home runs, and the previous three seasons, he had sub-.200 batting average, while he slashes a career .218/.321./.400.
Not exactly salivating numbers, and given how frugal the Steinbrenners have been, you have to be curious where the thought process has been.
Grisham was reportedly looking to possibly secure a multi-year contract worth approximately $50 million in total, and with the Yankees extending the qualifying offer, he may not have liked the kind of offers he was hearing.
Could this mean that Bellinger is on the move? What about Jasson Dominguez?
As far as Bellinger is concerned, according to Greg Joyce of the New York Post, retaining Grisham won’t impact their hunt for retaining Bellinger.
There are several parts of Grisham’s game that do serve a major purpose, as his BB% has been in the 90th percentile or better throughout his whole career, but he was also one of the leaders in Chase-rate. Last season, his Chase-rate was in the 99th percentile.
However, his OPS throughout his career has been teetering on average, and the three seasons before, his OPS was below average in the .600s dating back to his time with the San Diego Padres.
Other than that, his value on the field has been less-than-stellar; he had one of his worst seasons as a fielder after spending most of his career as one of MLB’s premier fielders.
Bringing back Grisham is a solid option in theory, but he can’t be the primary option. And the $22 million price tag indicates that he’s going to be heavily relied upon – which may be a mistake.
Bellinger is a much more efficient option that would cost possibly $8 million more, and Kyle Tucker will probably be the most sought after free agent this offseason – as will Kyle Schwarber.
The major question will be what will be general manager Brian Cashman’s next move? If it’s not retaining Bellinger, then what? Because even though the Yankees had a mildly successful season last season, it’s hardly a World Series team.