The New York Yankees have made an intriguing lineup decision on Trent Grisham.
The Yankees extended a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer to Grisham this offseason, which he accepted. Grisham had a stellar season a year ago, but he’s been cold at the plate this season, and now the Yankees have made a decision on him.
Ahead of the Yankees’ series-opening game against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, New York dropped Grisham to ninth in the order. Grisham had been hitting lead-off in the past five games, but the team decided to drop him to ninth.
Yankees’ lineup on May 1 is as follows:
- P. Goldschmidt 1B
- B. Rice DH
- A. Judge RF
- C. Bellinger LF
- A. Rosario 3B
- J. Chisholm Jr. 2B
- J. Caballero SS
- A. Wells C
- T. Grisham CF
Grisham being dropped to ninth is interesting, as the outfielder has struggled at the plate, and Aaron Boone is switching up his order. Baltimore is expected to start Cade Povich, who is a left-hander, which could be a reason why Grisham is batting ninth.
Yet, when the Yankees have faced left-handers, Grisham has batted in the sixth spot, not ninth, which is a surprise.
Grisham is hitting .151 with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs this season with the Yankees. In his last 7 games, he’s hitting .120 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs, while striking out 6 times in 25 at-bats.
Yankees Fans React to Lineup
After New York announced its lineup for Friday’s game, many Yankees fans were excited about it.
Yankees fans felt like Grisham had deserved to be dropped for a while, and batting ninth is a good chance for him to get back on track.
“Grisham should be hitting 9th for the rest of the season,” a fan wrote on X.
“Grisham finally not leading off,” a fan added.
“Kinda love this lineup,” a fan wrote.
“Grisham batting 9th, Wow! Tells me if he doesn’t start turning it around by deadline, they’ll replace him, they are not bringing him back next year so they can do whatever they feel like,” a fan wrote.
However, some Yankees fans are annoyed that New York doesn’t have a true leadoff hitter.
“I will never like Goldy hitting leadoff. Sure, he may get a base hit, but no chance he’s scoring from first on a double by Rice or Judge,” a fan wrote.
“So three of the four bench players tonight, Escarra, Dominguez, and Schuman are unplayable… Should’ve called up Jones,” a fan added.
“A leadoff bat should’ve been first on the list this past offseason,” a fan wrote.
The Yankees are off to a 20-11 start and atop the AL East.
Randal Grichuk Elects Free Agency
New York made a move to the outfield recently.
Randal Grichuk signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees during spring training and ended up making the Opening Day roster. Yet, after he struggled, New York DFA’d him to make room for Elmer Rodriguez to start.
Following being DFA’d, Grichuk elected free agency, the team announced.
“Today, OF Randal Grichuk elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment,” the Yankees announced on social media.
Grichuk hit .194 with 0 home runs and 2 RBIs in 31 at-bats with the Yankees this season.
Yankees Make Trent Grisham Decision Ahead of Orioles Game Amid Struggles