After Trent Grisham agreed to the $22.05 million qualifying offer with the New York Yankees, there was speculation that the AL East club did not expect the outfielder to accept. 

Of course, those were just rumors. Still, FanSided’s Zachary Rotman believes there would have been a better way for the Yankees to improve their roster during the offseason. 

“The New York Yankees chose to essentially run things back by handing Trent Grisham the qualifying offer (an offer he’d accept) and re-signing Cody Bellinger, but what if they traded for [Luis] Robert instead?” Rotman wrote on Sunday. “I understand why the Yankees wanted to run it back in their outfield – both Grisham and Bellinger were coming off great years in the Bronx – but Robert felt like a better fit.” 

After what felt like years of trade rumors, the New York Mets acquired Robert from the Chicago White Sox in January in exchange for infielder Luisangel Acuna and pitching prospect Truman Pauley. 

Why Yankees should have struck a trade for Robert 

“Robert’s $20 million price tag for 2026 isn’t cheap, but he makes less than both Grisham and Bellinger,” Rotman added.

“The Yankees could’ve saved money to add in other places, could’ve improved defensively, could’ve given themselves an opportunity to field a more balanced lineup, and had an easy out of the Robert contract if the trade backfired while having adequate replacement options in Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez.” 

Robert is off to a blistering start at the plate with the Mets, collecting five hits in 14 trips to the plate, including a walk-off three-run homer in Saturday’s extra-inning victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Even if his hitting begins to trend downward, he offers a valuable mix of speed and defensive prowess that the Yankees could have used in their lineup. 

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