The Yankees have a significant update on center fielder Trent Grisham. According to Yankees beat writer Greg Joyce, “Trent Grisham said he feels ready to be on the Wild Card roster, but that he and Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers have not been told by the team yet whether they will be on the roster,” Joyce stated in a tweet late this morning. Yankees left-handed hitting center fielder Trent Grisham re-injured his hamstring against the San Diego Padres in San Diego on September 4th, with what was diagnosed as “right hamstring discomfort,” per the team.
Grisham’s Disappointing 2026 Season
Grisham has a slash line of .211/.308/.703 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI’s in 121 games for the Yankees in 2026. It’s been a very up-and-down year for Grisham, who returned to the Yankees this past offseason, accepting a one-year, $ 22.025 million qualifying offer after producing a career-best season in 2025 for the Yankees as the everyday center fielder, where he hit a career-high 34 home runs with an .812 OPS in 143 games. This 2026 season has been a bit of a different year for Grisham, who’s in his age-29 season and will again be a free agent at season’s end.
Grisham has dealt with two separate hamstring injuries this year, the latest on September 4th and the first on July 12th. Grisham has still hit for power, with 18 home runs, but his OPS and OBP have slipped compared to his 2025 season. Another concern is his regression in outfield defense. In 2026, Grisham has a negative six outs above average (OAA), which ranks in the bottom ninth percentile for big-league outfielders (center fielders), according to Baseball Savant. His arm is still above league average, per Baseball Savant. Still, it’s been noticeably clear in 2026 that Grisham has lost a step or two in the outfield, and the recurring hamstring injuries could be a factor as well.
Spencer Jones And Trent Grisham Center Field Debate
This sparked intense debate while Grisham was playing about whether rookie 6’7 outfielder Spencer Jones or Grisham should be the team’s primary center fielder. Jones, who’s 24 years old, has big swing and miss concerns as a high strikeout high power type of profile player, but he’s impressed in his 2026 rookie campaign, in which he’s posted a .245/.312/.742 slash line with 11 home runs and 40 RBI’s in 86 games, and even better numbers against left-handed pitching. While Jones has performed better with the bat this year in his opportunities than Trent Grisham, Jones is still trying to learn how to be a big league center fielder.
Jones has also struggled in the outfield, posting a negative four outs above average, which ranks in the bottom 15th percentile, per Baseball Savant. Jones’ advantage over Grisham, however, is sprint speed. Jones already has ten stolen bases this year and ranks in the 88th percentile for sprint speed amongst active players at 28.9, according to Baseball Savant. These are not easy decisions for the Yankees to navigate as they approach the Wild Card and October baseball.
Time will tell Tuesday whether Trent Grisham has any role in the Yankees’ postseason roster as they prepare for the Wild Card. One will also have to wonder if, if not in this series, Trent Grisham becomes a possible factor in a potential ALDS or ALCS series, that is, if the Yankees advance. But as of right now, for the Wild Card, that is still very much up in the air.
Yankees’ Provide Big Trent Grisham Update Ahead Of Wild Card Series