Back in November, when the New York Yankees pulled a somewhat surprising move by offering the $22 million one-year qualifying offer to outfielder Trent Grisham, it appeared their motivation was clear. At 30 years old and coming off a massive breakout year in which he hit 34 homers and posted an OPS of .811, the Yankees assumed Grisham would seek to cash in with a long-term contract in free agency.
By giving him the qualifying offer, the Yankees would line themselves up for an extra draft pick once Grisham turned them down and went to the market. But then the Yankees were taken aback when Grisham turned around and accepted the QO, putting him on New York’s books and complicating the team’s offseason approach.
The Yankees and GM Brian Cashman were widely ripped for the move, and as New York radio host Michael Kay said, “I was absolutely aghast. I think he is a good player, and I said that once they offered him the $22 million, he was going to take it. He’s not dumb. He’s a smart guy. He was not getting $22 million on the market. … You’re paying Neiman Marcus prices for a guy who’s not a Neiman Marcus player.”
Trent Grisham Breakout Year May Be a One-Off
Kay’s reaction was representative of much of the reaction around the Yankees at the time, and reports leaked suggesting that the team was caught off guard by Grisham’s decision. But it was pointed out that Grisham’s power spike in 2025 might well have been a one-off, and that he still hit only .235 on the season. That was after he batted .191 in his final two years in San Diego, and .190 for the Yankees in 2024.
Grisham’s speed and defense were always his calling card and the reason he has been able to stay in the big leagues, but in 2025, Grisham’s defense went South, and he logged a rating of minus-6.0 on FanGraphs, making him the second-worst outfielder on the team behind Jasson Dominguez.
After having made just $5 million last season, raising his salary by four times in 2026 seemed absurd. Indeed, it still does, especially with young outfielders Dominguez and Spencer Jones needing big-league playing time. But Cashman is attempting to reframe how the Grisham $22 million deal is viewed.
Yankees Got a ‘Bargain’
Speaking on MLB Radio over the weekend, Cashman declared the Yankees actually got quite a good deal on Grisham.
Said Cashman (via the New York Post): “At this point, that $22 million looks like a bargain the way the free agent market got away from everyone, on a one-year basis. … We’re really happy he chose to stay with us at the $22 [million] on a one-year basis and hopefully he can replicate what he did last year for us because it was one of the reasons we had the success we had and made the postseason.”
That is the positive side of what the Yankees have with the Grisham deal–it’s only for one year. It does give the team some trade flexibility with Dominguez, Jones or even Trent Grisham himself. But it’s also a lot to give a player who probably wouldn’t have factored into the 2026 plans if not for the qualifying offer gamble.
Yankees Brian Cashman Recasts Controversial $22 Million Move as ‘Bargain’