New York Yankees free agent outfielder Trent Grisham made the surprising decision to accept his qualifying offer, which comes in at $22.025 million.
The one-year deal comes in at a figure higher than the annual figure he would have likely gotten in free agency, though after hitting a career high of 34 home runs, he was pegged for a notable long-term commitment.
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Grisham slashed .235/.348/.464 with a 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate, sitting as his best season thus far. He is also only 29 years old, and he was poised for a payday in a market with limited outfield options.
Instead, he is coming back on a one-year basis and will hope to replicate his production, lining him up for a bigger payday with two seasons of high-level play in the books and no compensation pick weighing down his value.
The Yankees were likely hoping that Grisham would decline his qualifying offer, allowing them to get the compensation pick and using the money that would have gone to the outfielder to parlay it into a new contract for fellow free agent Cody Bellinger, who had the better season last year.
According to team insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Bellinger will still be a priority for the Yankees following Grisham’s decision, and it will not stop them from keeping the outfielder.
The trickle-down effect could impact their pursuit of pitching staff upgrades, either to the bullpen or starting rotation, both of which need notable upgrades, as evident by the playoffs.
Also, the Yankees now have a few too many outfielders, considering Judge, Jasson Dominguez, and Giancarlo Stanton (mostly a DH) are all in the picture. With Grisham and potentially Bellinger staying, there is likely no room for the hot prospect Spencer Jones.
Still, the Yankees will likely boast one of the better outfield trios in baseball next year, especially if Grisham continues to hit well.
