Cashman’s Poker Hand: All-In on Trent Grisham with a Pair of Twos

The Yankees’ decision to offer Trent Grisham a $22 million qualifying offer took everyone by surprise, especially when he accepted it.

Let’s talk about this strange turn of events. Back in November, the Yankees seemed to have a strategy: throw a qualifying offer at Grisham after a career year and prepare for him to decline and test free agency. Why wouldn’t he? A 30-year-old hitting 34 homers is going to chase a long-term deal, right? Not quite. Grisham did the unexpected—he accepted. And now, here we are, paying him top dollar for a rollercoaster of a player coming off a single breakout season.

The fallout didn’t take long. New York’s GM, Brian Cashman, found himself under fire. Critics like Michael Kay were quick to point out that Grisham wasn’t getting $22 million anywhere else. That’s like paying Saks Fifth Avenue prices for something you found on clearance. Kay’s point resonates with many Yankee fans: we’re shelling out for a guy whose batting average hasn’t seen .300 in years and suddenly found power last season. Was it a fluke?

Grisham’s numbers before 2025—well, they weren’t exactly staggering. A .191 average in his final San Diego seasons is rough. Then he hits .190 with us in 2024? It’s enough to make you scratch your head. And let’s not ignore his defensive decline. His minus-6.0 rating on FanGraphs made him almost as shaky as Jasson Dominguez in the outfield. That’s some company you don’t want to keep.

At the time Trent Grisham accepted the qualifying offer back in November, it seemed like a steep price for the Yankees to pay.

A few months later, Brian Cashman believes they got a deal.
Read more: https://t.co/rsluSE34zP pic.twitter.com/WXV3AwiSjO

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) February 2, 2026

Grisham’s Gamble: A One-Year Wonder?

Here’s the kicker—Cashman is now telling us this is a “bargain.” Yep, you heard right. According to him, in today’s market, $22 million is a steal for a player like Grisham. But is it really? We’re talking about a player who, if we’re honest, probably wouldn’t even be a blip on the radar if the qualifying offer hadn’t worked out the way it did.

Grisham’s power surge could very well have been a one-off. A .235 batting average with a career-high in homers suggests a big swing toward the fence, but what happens when those fly balls stop clearing it? Back to sub-.200 batting? That doesn’t scream value. Except, in Cashman’s world, it apparently does, given the volatile free-agent landscape.

Cashman’s Defense: Betting Big on the Market

Cashman’s logic is as follows: the market’s gone wild. Prices are up, and suddenly $22 million for a single year looks reasonable. Does this hold water? He’s banking on that, literally. The Yankees are tethered to a big hit-or-miss player, with the hope being that Grisham’s 2025 wasn’t just lightning in a bottle.

We’re being told to look at this as a strategic flex. The deal secures flexibility—either Grisham finds his groove or he becomes a trade asset. But if his performance doesn’t match up to last year, the Yankees are in a tough spot, juggling the need to give time to young talents like Dominguez and Spencer Jones.

Room for Young Blood: The Dominguez and Jones Dilemma

Then there’s the issue we’re all thinking about: where does this leave our prospects? With Grisham chewing up payroll and potentially playing time, Dominguez and Jones could find themselves benched. They’re our future, and stunting their growth because of one questionable signing raises some eyebrows, doesn’t it?

It’s a classic Yankees move—big spending with questionable foresight. Young talent needs time to develop on the field, not ride the pine while we hope a veteran’s magic touch from one season keeps sparking. Will Cashman manage to thread this needle? The jury’s still out.

Grisham’s Gamble: A Costly Misstep by Cashman

What on earth were they thinking? Trent Grisham, a guy who suddenly decided to swing for the fences in one year, somehow convinced Cashman and the Yankees’ front office to shell out $22 million. It’s like going all-in on a poker hand with a pair of twos. His 2025 season, though impressive, was an anomaly, a flash-in-the-pan moment. But hey, Cashman’s got his rose-colored glasses on and wants us all to believe that we’re sitting on a goldmine. Really, Brian?

The Yankees seemed to have forgotten one crucial detail. Grisham wasn’t setting the world on fire before his ‘glorious’ 2025. Yeah, he hit .235 in his breakout year. Big whoop. The rest of his career numbers read like a horror story, mainly when you consider his batting average barely scratched the Mendoza Line. A few more dingers, and they handed him the keys to the vault. Genius move, right?

Blocking Youth: Why Grisham’s Deal Hurts the Future

Let’s not even talk about how this impacts the young guns waiting in the wings. Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones are two names that strike excitement into the hearts of Yankees fans. Yet here we are, blocking those promising futures with a sub-par, overpaid outfielder. Thanks a lot, Cashman. You might as well have put a ‘No Entry’ sign in their way. It’s a travesty, really. The farm system needs to breathe, but the Yankees just suffocated it with this boneheaded move.

Sure, there’s a tiny sliver of hope. Trade flexibility, they say. Grisham might be a piece to move later. But let’s be real. Who’s jumping at the chance to take on a $22 million liability with defensive metrics that look like a sinking ship? Exactly. No one. The Yankees are stuck in a self-made mess. And Cashman is left to sweep the pieces together with a flimsy broom. Good luck with that.