Trent Grisham accepting his qualifying offer was always going to be a no-brainer.
The New York Yankees’ center fielder made just $5 million in 2025, which was a career year behind a slash line of .235/.348/.464 (.812 OPS) with 34 home runs and 74 RBI. The one-year pact he signed — making him one of just four around Major League Baseball to sign a qualifying offer on Tuesday — provides a $17 million raise, where he’ll make $22.025 million in 2026.
General manager Brian Cashman has already made it known that Grisham’s return would not hinder the pursuit of a reunion with free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger, who is one of the hottest commodities on the open market this winter.
The 30-year-old, who is fresh off a 29-home-run season, is still believed to be the Bronx Bombers’ top priority.
With Ben Rice projected to be the club’s Opening Day first baseman and Giancarlo Stanton still inhabiting the designated hitter’s role, that means the only other place for Bellinger to fit into the Yankees’ lineup is left field next to Grisham in center and Aaron Judge in right.
That creates a log jam for some of the organization’s up-and-comers, specifically Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones.
Dominguez, who is still just 22, posted a .719 OPS with 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 123 games — his first action since recovering from a litany of injury issues headlined by Tommy John surgery. While his defense in left field was suspect, his power bat has been coveted by the Yankees for years.
Jones is New York’s No. 4 overall prospect and ranked within MLB Pipeline’s top 100 this winter. The 24-year-old batted .274 with an .897 OPS, 19 home runs, 48 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 67 games at the Triple-A level this season. He was one of three players added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on Tuesday, which protected him from the Rule 5 Draft.
Will his MLB debut have to wait now that Grisham is back? It would be hard to do that if he has a strong showing in spring training.
