Remember when the New York Yankees traded for Juan Soto before the start of the 2024 season and everyone immediately rushed to the front of the line to come up with reasons why acquiring for one of the best hitters was dumb?
We had the "It's only for one year!" crowd, who of course are probably the same people that would empty the farm system at the trade deadline for a two-month rental. We had the "The Yankees gave up that much pitching for Soto? Woof" as if Randy Vásquez and Jhony Brito were real. But the best was "Ha, you're taking on Trent Grisham's $5.5 million salary?! Idiots!" as if adding a 2.0 WAR outfielder was some sort of criminal offense.
We'll admit, Grisham's first year in the Bronx stunk. But for anyone actually watching, it wasn't his fault. Aaron Boone didn't play him. How was he supposed to make an impact appearing in less than half of the team's games?
Nonetheless, he still possessed value as an above-average defender with a slugging lefty bat. And he had a track record of success, logging 10.1 WAR from 2020-2023 with the Padres. Who wouldn't pay $5.5 million for a 2.5 WAR player?
In 2025, Grisham has completely flipped the script and is the Final Boss for anyone who still dares to criticize the Soto trade with San Diego. His current production won't hold, but he's already been more valuable through 31 games this year compared to 76 last year.
Yankees' Juan Soto trade even more valuable because of Trent Grisham
He's logged 1.2 WAR with a .292 average, 1.016 OPS, 19 runs scored, 10 home runs and 20 RBI. That includes the game-tying pinch-hit home run against his former team on Wednesday night. He's yet to make an error in 212 innings in center field. He's served as the leadoff hitter on multiple occasions, sparking the lineup with his power and ability to hit left-handed pitching.
Now that the Yankees have decided to be more flexible with their personnel, Grisham has been granted a fair shake and he's delivering. If the Yankees end up doling out $10,5 million for a good ~200 games of Grisham, that's completely worth it compared to the other prices we see outfielders go for. A suspended Jurickson Profar at $14 million for a single season? George Springer at $25 million a year? Michael Conforto for $17 million?
We know the pesky trolls won't keep quiet here, and they'll be first to point out Grisham's struggles when he inevitably slumps, but at least Yankees fans with mental fortitude can put this to rest and officially move on knowing everyone else is that much dumber than they originally thought.
