The New York Yankees feared a href=”https://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-injuries/189123/yankees-mlb-trent-grisham-injury-knee-spencer-jones-volpe-transactions”>Trent Grisham may have suffered a potentially serious knee injury Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the center fielder’s situation took a surprising turn Thursday after imaging revealed no structural damage ahead of the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
While the clean imaging, reported by Grisham himself, spared the Yankees a worst-case scenario, Grisham’s latest health scare arrives in the middle of a brutal offensive slump that is quickly becoming one of the team’s biggest concerns heading into the summer.
Grisham exited Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Toronto in the fifth inning after experiencing left knee discomfort. The injury traced back to the second inning, when he legged out a bloop double that fell between Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Piñango and third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. Grisham felt fine after sliding into second and even played defense for two more innings. But something was clearly off.
“I didn’t even notice it,” Grisham said, as quoted by MLB.com‘s Bryan Hoch. “Gave my guards [to the first-base coach], felt fine. Felt everything was normal. Slide felt normal. I went into my secondary [lead] and that’s when I felt the discomfort.”
Grisham’s Knee Injury Lands in the Middle of Tough Stretch
Yankees manager Aaron Boone watched closely from the dugout, initially fearing a calf issue before determining it was the knee. Spencer Jones came on to replace Grisham in center field in the fifth inning. Imaging Thursday morning showed no structural damage, and Grisham said he hoped to be available off the bench in an emergency for the series finale.
“It’s a relief,” Grisham said.
Even before Thursday’s scare, Grisham’s 2026 season had been a troubling regression from the breakout year he delivered in 2025. A season ago, the 29-year-old Burleson, Texas, native slugged a career-high 34 home runs and established himself as a legitimate piece of New York’s outfield core.
This year has been a different story. Through 49 games, Grisham is slashing .174/.305/.348 with six home runs and 27 RBIs, posting a .653 OPS, well below his career mark of .716. His slugging average of .348 sits nearly 50 points beneath his career number.
“It didn’t feel like something I should mess with,” Grisham told Hoch, describing the knee.
Yankees Send Spencer Jones to Center
With Grisham sitting out, the Yankees turned to prospect Spencer Jones in center field for Thursday’s series finale. New York entered the day at 30-20 and in second place in the AL East, three games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees won the first two games of the Blue Jays series and were looking to complete the sweep against a Toronto club that stood at 22-27 before dropping the one-run decision Wednesday.
Whether Grisham’s knee issue lingers beyond Thursday is the question that matters most now. No IL move had been announced as of Thursday afternoon, and the clean imaging offers a measure of relief. But at .174 through nearly 50 games — with a knee scare now layered on top — Grisham’s season has become one of the Yankees’ more pressing storylines heading into June.
Yankees’ Trent Grisham Knee Scare Takes Surprising Turn Before Blue Jays Finale