Even the New York Yankees themselves couldn't have possibly imagined the season that Trent Grisham just put together.
It was a career year in every way for the talented centerfielder.
When the offseason arrived, it meant the Yankees extended a $22 million qualifying offer to Grisham, and he took it.
That means the lefty will play the 2026 season for that amount before becoming a free agent after the season.
It makes him one of the more intriguing players in baseball for the campaign ahead.
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In essence: Can Grisham do it again?
And more expensive a question than that: If Grisham does it again, how much is he worth next offseason?
"Grisham arrived in New York as an afterthought in the 2023 Juan Soto blockbuster and did little to change the perception in his first season with the Yankees," MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan writes. "However, in the wake of Soto’s departure to join the Mets, Grisham emerged as one of the Yankees’ most valuable regulars in 2025, producing 34 home runs with a 125 OPS+ while starting 124 games in center field. That marked a dramatic turnaround from 2022-24, when he had 39 homers with an 84 OPS+ over 381 games. Grisham reached free agency in November, but with Draft compensation penalties and concerns about his past performance threatening to depress his market, he opted to accept the Yankees’ $22.025 million qualifying offer instead of testing the open market. Now, he’ll look to prove last season was no fluke before returning to free agency unencumbered by the QO."
The Yankees will be counting on Grisham in a big way, too. They've got lots of hitting talent, but not really anyone else to hold down centerfield.
If Grisham declined to his former production, it'd hurt the Yanks, because they wouldn't have an obvious alternative.
So Grisham's wallet and the Yankees' hopes are all hoping he can keep this up for another year.
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