The first major decision of the Yankees’ offseason: offering a significant chunk of money to Trent Grisham, who might or might not accept it.
In a move that will have domino effects, the Yankees on Thursday extended a qualifying offer worth $22.025 million for one season to their primary 2025 center fielder, who now will make the first major decision of his own offseason.
Will Grisham, a below-average hitter for his first six years in the majors who earned a career-best $5 million last season, jump on a pact more than four times that figure?
Or will Grisham, a center fielder in a market without many others who is coming off a breakout, 34-homer campaign, reject the one-year offer and attempt to capitalize with a multiyear deal somewhere?
He will have to decide by Nov. 18.
If Grisham accepts, he would present a solid option in center field for the 2026 Yankees or as a trade chip for a team that still is expected to chase the likes of Cody Bellinger (who was not eligible for the qualifying offer).
Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham. Robert Sabo for NY Post
If he rejects, he would hit the open market with strings attached; teams that lose players who had been extended qualifying offers receive compensatory draft picks.
Already off to free agency is Devin Williams, whom the Yankees declined to tender a qualifying offer after a mostly disappointing lone season in The Bronx.
There will be more available replacements for a back-end-of-the-bullpen righty than there would be for Grisham.
The free agents capable of playing center are led by Bellinger (who is better in a corner or at first base), Harrison Bader and the likes of Cedric Mullins, Willi Castro and Lane Thomas.
Teams in need of center fielders could be forced to look at the trade market, with the White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. (whose $20 million option Chicago picked up), the Red Sox’s Jarren Duran and the Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas among the potential targets.
Because of the dearth at the position, it is possible that, even if Grisham accepts the QO, the Yankees could look to offload that $22.025 million if the rest of their offseason dictates that his money should be spent elsewhere.
Trent Grisham during the ALDS. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
If the Yankees re-sign Bellinger, who will command significantly more, they would have a crowded outfield picture.
Aaron Judge will be in right field. Jasson Domínguez is expected to play left field next season, the Yankees banking on his defense improving in a second season at the spot.
Looming is top prospect Spencer Jones, who will have to be added to the 40-man roster this winter ahead of the Rule 5 draft.
If Bellinger returns, would the Yankees envision him and Jones sharing time in center, thus enabling them to move Grisham to a center field-needy club?
In extending the qualifying offer to Grisham, the Yankees determined he offered value at that price point. The next determination the Yankees and 29 other teams should make is whether his 2025 season was indicative of the player he really is.
Grisham was essentially a throw-in element of the December 2023 trade for Juan Soto and played like one during his first season in The Bronx. Among 230 qualified hitters from 2022-24, Grisham’s .651 OPS ranked 209th. His outfield defense made him an acceptable fourth outfielder.
But with what he has cited as a better mental outlook, his walk year was remarkable (an .811 OPS buoyed by his power and ability to draw walks) while he emerged as the typical leadoff hitter against right-handed starters. His defense was less impressive, perhaps because the 29-year-old is slowing down or perhaps because of a hamstring issue that hampered him during the second half.
The Yankees are at least open to learning firsthand if the real Grisham, at the plate and in the field, is who they saw during the 2025 campaign.
The Yankees added Kervin Castro to their 40-man roster, ensuring the 26-year-old righty does not reach minor league free agency.
Castro, whom the Yankees selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft before the 2024 season, pitched to a 1.53 ERA in 35 games last season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He struck out 52 in 47 innings.
Castro appeared in 20 major league games with the Giants and Cubs in 2021-22.