CLEARWATER, Fla. — The best offensive season of Trent Grisham’s career was also his worst defensively.
The end result was Grisham accepting the qualifying offer and coming back to the Yankees with a chance to prove that not only was his offensive breakout not a fluke, but also that there is more in the tank defensively that he did not show consistently enough last season because of a lingering hamstring issue.
While Grisham’s biggest impact last season came with the bat, when he slugged 34 home runs and took over everyday duties in center field, he did not play up to his track record as a two-time Gold Glover, the most recent one coming in 2022.
The 29-year-old is typically not big on looking at defensive metrics — in part because he did not usually have to worry about them when they were strong — but he acknowledged on Sunday that he likes to know where he stands among center fielders when there is enough data by the middle of the season.
“And I knew I was down towards the bottom of that list last year, so I kind of took that personally this offseason,” said Grisham, whose minus-11 defensive runs saved were fourth lowest among qualified center fielders. “I definitely wanted to get better and get back to how I was when I was younger.”
A big part of that, the Yankees believe, is getting healthier.
Grisham came into camp last season with a hamstring strain but was able to start the season on time. Then, after he came back from the paternity list in late April, he said he had “a little ankle thing that I was dealing with.” Then on June 30 in Toronto, Grisham left a game early after getting his cleat stuck on the turf while making a running attempt on a sinking liner — “probably another [hamstring] strain,” he said, but he returned to the lineup a few days later and played through it.
“Maybe not quite 100 percent, but it wasn’t really about that,” Grisham said after making a diving catch and going 0-for-2 in a 5-3 win over the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. “It was about wanting to be out there playing. I felt like I could do a pretty good job out there.”
The offense did not take much of a hit, as Grisham continued to deliver some big hits, but his defense took a step back — in part because he had trouble stepping back.
“For me, that was the main factor last year, the [physical] limitations,” outfield coach Luis Rojas said. “I think a lot of balls, specifically straight back really hurt him, because he had to drop step and then push really hard on those hamstrings. Those were the ones where he was a tad slower than in the past and he couldn’t get to some baseballs and it crushed his metrics.”
Grisham came into camp this year feeling healthy and, according to Rojas, said, “I’m going to show everyone that I’m fast,” perhaps only somewhat jokingly.
The Yankees do not necessarily need Grisham to be as fast as he was earlier in his career — which helped him record 10 DRS in 2022 — but just enough to be able to play the level of defense he is capable of, matching his strong offensive production.
“I didn’t go into this offseason and overstress on the defensive side of the ball,” Grisham said. “It was more mentally and putting a chip back on my shoulder to get that edge again. It’s more of a personal thing than anything.”
Of course, if Grisham is looking for chips, he can also find one in the questions about whether he can actually repeat his breakout offensive season from 2025. The Yankees clearly believe he can — pointing to the strong underlying metrics that suggest it was not a fluke — which is why they made him the $22.025 million qualifying offer.
Grisham said Sunday he took the full 12 days he was allotted to decide to accept the offer, a decision he called “weighty.” He might have been able to make more money overall in a multiyear deal had he declined it, especially since he would have been the second-best center fielder on the free agent market behind teammate Cody Bellinger, but ultimately opted to return.
“At the end of the day, I want to win baseball games,” Grisham said. “I think that’s how you get the best out of yourself. I want to win. … That was just my priority.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
