Jazz Chisholm Jr. Sends Trent Grisham Message as Free Agency Nears
The New York Yankees have several big-name players, but Trent Grisham's breakout came out of left field. Although the 28-year-old slashed just .190/.290/.385 last year and had never hit more than 15 homers in a season before 2025, he's now on a different level.
Grisham is slashing .248/.353/.471 with 26 homers and 51 RBI over 116 games, and is second on the team in homers. The only Yankee with more homers is AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge, who has 41 over 123 games.
Furthermore, Grisham is a top power hitter on a New York team that leads MLB in home runs. It has 225 homers entering Thursday's bout with the Chicago White Sox, 24 ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. spoke about Grisham's greatness after Wednesday's 11-2 win over the Washington Nationals, via MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
"He’s been great, man. He’s been a spark plug, and really what we’ve needed all season,” he said. “He doesn’t really chase. He’ll force you to throw in the strike zone before he swings at a ball out of the zone, most of the time. For me, that’s what you need out of a leadoff guy, especially when you’ve got some pop like he does.”
Grisham is only making $5 million on an arbitration deal, but he'll get a raise in unrestricted free agency this offseason. Will New York pay up?
Yankees Must Solve Outfield Logjam
In addition to Grisham, fellow outfielder Cody Bellinger has a player option coming up. If he opts out and hits free agency, that's two starters in the same position group that the front office would need to pay.
Bellinger is earning his $27.5 million salary this season, as he's slashing .279/.331/.501 with 25 homers and 79 RBI over 123 games. The 30-year-old's option is worth $25 million, so he'll likely chase an even larger average annual salary if he opts out.
Giving big contracts to Grisham and Bellinger would secure long-term depth, but it could be problematic for Jasson Dominguez. The former top prospect in the organization is slashing .258/.330/.393 with 10 homers and 45 RBI over 108 games in his first full big-league season, but he's not a full-time starter due to the players above.
Dominguez has two years left of pre-arbitration, but New York may want to sacrifice either Grisham or Bellinger to increase his reps. The 22-year-old is still not close to his prime, and he could develop into a star if given the chance.
