For Trent Grisham, New York is the third place in his almost six-year-long professional baseball career. He was initially chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers and gained fame with the San Diego Padres. Afterwards, he joined the Bronx in a trade that also involved All-Star Trent Grisham. Milwaukee Brewers and rising to prominence with the San Diego Padres, Grisham arrived in the Bronx as part of the trade that also sent All-Star Juan Soto to the Yankees.
But perhaps Trent Grisham‘s story is less about where he is and more about how he got there. As one of the top prospects of the 2015 MLB Draft, he was considered on the fast track to the big leagues. He won two Gold Glove Awards and began showing plenty of promise at the plate.
However, he’s struggled mightily since. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the 27-year-old former phenom combined to hit just .191 in 920 at-bats. Sitting there under the Mendoza Line, Grisham made for an easy thrown-in along with Soto.
Proud to be in Pinstripes
Now free to start anew, Grisham spoke this week about his excitement to be in New York. Along the way, he made sure to mention the differences in the facilities and the amenities with other teams in Major League Baseball.
“The way these guys treat players as an organization is second to none,” Grisham told mlb.com in the interview. I always heard about that around baseball. Being able to experience it for the first time, it’s been really good. I like the group of guys we have here. It’s a great group. Of course, the history of the Yankees is special to anybody.”
He also discussed his woes at the plate throughout the past two seasons and discussed the steps he’s made to correct the problems. Grisham admitted that he didn’t always carry his failures well and had to change his mental approach when he got to the Big Apple.
“I had to redefine what makes me Trent Grisham more than anything,” he explained. “I had to change my mindset, really. I’ve been down on myself the last two years when I struggled. … I just wasn’t in a great mindset. That’s what I really had to change going into this year – knowing what makes me and going from there.”
“With all the new information in baseball, it’s kind of a war on what’s the right swing, what’s the best swing,” Grisham continued. “And I started to listen to all that noise, as opposed to being in the cage, knowing myself and knowing what works for me.”
“I [changed that] and went back to what I think is good for me. I’m just going to roll with that.”
Going Back to Basics with the Yankees
Being a left-handed hitter, the Yankees are probably depending on Grisham to hit some home runs as a part-time player. Even though his batting average is low, he still hit a total of 30 home runs and had 103 runs batted in (RBI) in those two 'down' seasons. Therefore, the Yankees are expecting to benefit from not only his fielding but also possibly his batting skills.
“I think he complements our team very well,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “His bat should play well at Yankee Stadium and, as you have seen, it’s hard to find quality center fielders in this game, and he is certainly one of the better ones in this game. He is going to benefit this roster.”
The bat is expected to perform even better than last year, and there's potential to get even more out of it. We're excited to test it.
