Trent Grisham’s September is shaping up as a prove-it month in the clearest sense.
The Yankees center fielder flashed real production for most of August, then watched it evaporate just as quickly. From Aug. 1 through Aug.
26, Grisham hit .241/.323/.554 with a 142 wRC+, launching seven homers and driving in 14 runs. Then the bottom fell out.
Over his final 23 plate appearances before Tuesday night’s big win over the Angels, he didn’t record a hit and struck out 26.1% of the time, a spike from his season mark of 18.3% in that small stretch.
He did snap the skid with an RBI single in the Yankees’ win over Los Angeles, but the cold stretch only reinforced a bigger issue: the glove that used to carry his value has been slipping too.
Against the Houston Astros, Grisham appeared to take a poor route on a ball in center field, and by the time he got his glove up, the ball bounced off it. That wasn’t an isolated bad look. The numbers point in the same direction, with Grisham sitting at a ninth-percentile -6 Outs Above Average in center field and a 34th-percentile sprint speed.
That’s a tough combination for a player whose case for staying in pinstripes depended on defense holding the line. Grisham owns a 97 wRC+ this season, a clear drop from his 128 breakout last year, and if he had repeated that kind of production, there might at least be a conversation about bringing him back. Instead, the fit looks increasingly shaky.
Even a move to the corners doesn’t sound like a clean answer. If the Yankees are mapping out next season without a lockout, Aaron Judge is expected in right field, Cody Bellinger in left, and Spencer Jones could be in center. The piece notes Jones should already be there, given the speed gap between him and Grisham.
For Grisham, that leaves a simple assignment over the final 23 games: catch fire fast. He’d need a huge September and a scorching October to give the Yankees a reason to keep him around, and even then, the defensive value that once made him useful no longer looks dependable. Right now, he doesn’t profile as much more than a backup option, and not even a particularly strong one on that side of the ball.
If he can’t turn it around, his next shot may come somewhere else in 2027.
In Other News...
Yankees May Be Facing A Giancarlo Stanton Reality Nobody Wanted
Giancarlo Stantons latest calf issue has added another layer of uncertainty to a season already interrupted by multiple injuries, and for the Yankees it has become more than just a health update. The power hitter had already dealt with a re-strain in June before suffering a new injury to the other calf, leaving his 2026 availability in serious doubt and forcing the club to confront how fragile his role has become at this stage of his tenure in New York.
Around the team, the bigger question is no longer just whether Stanton can get back on the field this season, but whether this is the point where the Yankees have to start planning for life without him. Some insiders and media voices are already wondering if his time in pinstripes is nearing its end, and if that proves to be the case, the lineup would need a different shape going forward. For a club built to contend, the possibility of losing one of its most feared bats creates both urgency and an offseason decision that could ripple through the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Ex Caught In Roster Squeeze As Pirates Prospect Returns
Konnor Griffin is back on the Pirates active side of the ledger after missing time with a finger injury, and Pittsburgh cleared the way by designating veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt for assignment. Griffin had been sidelined since June 5, but he was producing before the injury, hitting .276 with five home runs, so the move puts a familiar prospect back into the organizations mix at a time when every roster spot matters.
Bethancourts exit is a reminder of how quickly the margins can shift for a player acquired in a minor league deal, especially one with a short runway to make an impression. The former Yankee was brought over from New York but never got into a regular-season game for Pittsburgh, leaving the club to make a choice that tells you where its priorities are right now, even if the full roster fallout is still to come. [Read more 🡒]
Former Yankees Minor Leaguer Just Took A Public Shot At Their Approach
Nick Torres, who recently went back to the Mexican League after a brief stop with the Yankees Double-A affiliate, put the organizations hitting development under a public spotlight this week. On social media, Torres contrasted the approach he saw in New Yorks system with the one he associates with the Mexican League, framing it as a difference between a focus on analytics and individual metrics on one side and a more traditional emphasis on winning and manufacturing runs on the other.
The critique lands in a system that has generally produced results on the field, at least in the minors. Yankees farm clubs have been among the better offensive groups in baseball, leading their affiliates in runs scored, home runs and RBIs, which makes Torres comments as much a challenge to philosophy as to production. Even so, his remarks add another layer to the ongoing conversation around how the Yankees develop hitters and whether their process looks different from the box score. [Read more 🡒]