With the Yankees heading into an offseason that could reshape plenty of the roster, two of their biggest impending free agents are heading in very different directions.
Ten players are set to become unrestricted free agents after the World Series, according to Yankees Worldwide, and the group includes several notable names: outfielder Trent Grisham, infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and reliever David Bednar. All three arrived via trade and played meaningful roles at different points for New York.
Of the trio, Bednar is the one the Yankees should be most eager to keep. That may sound odd next to bigger names in the lineup, but his 2026 season made a stronger case than either Grisham’s or Chisholm’s.
It also filled a glaring need. The Yankees’ rotation carried the pitching staff, while the bullpen spent much of the year fighting inconsistency and ineffectiveness.
Bednar was the rare exception down the stretch.
The right-hander, who turns 32 on Saturday, had a rocky start. He allowed 11 earned runs over his first 20 appearances and carried a 4.95 ERA early on.
After May 18, though, he settled in and looked like a different pitcher. Bednar converted 25 of his last 27 save chances, posted a 1.46 ERA and struck out 53 across 49.1 innings.
In the postseason, he added three scoreless innings with three strikeouts, according to Lucas Parmenter.
He also gave the Yankees something beyond the ninth inning. Bednar was trusted in the eighth as well, giving the bullpen a more stable late-game option than it had most of the season.
That matters because the Yankees have spent years trying to solve the closer spot since Mariano Rivera retired. Aroldis Chapman and Clay Holmes each had stretches of success, but neither ended his Yankees run as a fully reliable answer.
Devin Williams was so ineffective last year that he lost the closer job during the season. Bednar, even with the slow start, looked like the most dependable closing option the team has had in a while, which makes his return a priority.
The bullpen still needs work, but keeping Bednar should be part of that winter overhaul. Letting him leave would only make an already shaky unit harder to trust.
Grisham, by contrast, is a much easier decision. The Yankees gave him the qualifying offer last winter, and he accepted it for $22.025 million in 2026.
After his breakout 2025 season, he was trying to prove it wasn’t a one-year spike. He couldn’t come close.
There were still moments when Grisham flashed that pop, especially with late-inning home runs in big spots. But at the top of the order, he was a liability.
He hit just .199 with a .303 on-base percentage as the leadoff man. His bat slipped, his defense in center field was poor, and two hamstring strains sent him to the injured list twice.
The emergence of Spencer Jones makes the decision even simpler. Jones is steadily adjusting to major league pitching and looks like an everyday player for 2027, even if his own center field metrics have not been strong. That development gives the Yankees a clearer path away from Grisham this winter.
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