Aaron Boone's insistence on Trent Grisham's defense is a Yankees mistake waiting to happen

While many have complained about Trent Grisham's offensive performance (though that's been quieter after this week's surge), a bigger issue affecting the New York Yankees has been his defense in center field. Grisham has struggled with the glove all season, and the issue has become more pronounced in recent weeks.

While that's been obvious to anyone who has been watching, Aaron Boone doesn't see it as a problem. In fact, he's proclaimed that Grisham will remain in center field and that the Yankees have a lot of confidence in his defense.

"Mostly good, mostly really reliable. Not at the Gold Glove level from a few years ago," Boone said on the Talkin' Yanks podcast regarding Grisham's defense.

He spoke about Grisham's hamstring injury and said, "So you get dinged with some gappers that fall that really move the needle. So, I think that's hurt him a little bit. And then there's been a couple of those gappers that he hasn't hit, but I trust him exclusively out there. He is really good at it. He's made some great plays out there."

It almost seems as if Boone is making our argument for us. Grisham hasn't been good defensively, and it's not just the hamstring injury holding him back. Instead, Boone seems to be insinuating that just because Grisham, a two-time Gold Glove winner, isn't playing up to that level doesn't mean he's not a good defensive center fielder.

The metrics say otherwise. Among qualified center fielders, Grisham ranks dead last in outs above average with -4. That is certainly below average, but when compared to other positions might not seem to be that bad, until you realize that center fielders typically are the best athletes on the field, and the current league leaders are Pete Crow-Armstrong with 22 and Ceddanne Rafaela with 14.

Defensive runs saved don't paint a much prettier picture either. The 29-year-old is third from the bottom with a -5 mark that again puts him well behind the league leaders.

The Yankees have an alternative for Trent Grisham in center field in Spencer Jones

Given New York's struggles scoring runs without Aaron Judge, the team can ill-afford to give away runs in the field. Run prevention has to be a top priority with all the injuries they're currently dealing with.

Playing Grisham in center does nothing to achieve that goal. In fact, his play in the field has been detrimental at times. Take the Aug. 5 matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals as an example. In the fifth inning, JJ Wetherholt doubled past Grisham to break a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth.

Had Grisham made the play, the Yankees would've gotten out of the inning unscathed. Instead, two runs scored. The fly ball had a 75% catch probability. New York lost the game by a score of 3-1.

The real issue is that Grisham is no longer as fleet of foot as he was in the past. With an average sprint speed of 26.6 feet per second, he ranks in the 30th percentile this season. This isn't a new phenomenon, either. Last season, Grisham recorded a 26.7 feet per second sprint speed, and he also struggled with the glove.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have played Spencer Jones, a natural center fielder, almost exclusively in right field, except for when Grisham was on the IL. Jones is an athletic freak. He measures in at six-foot-seven and owns an average sprint speed of 29.2 feet per second, a 93rd percentile performance. And with Cody Bellinger's arrival en route, they may have run out of opportunities to swap these two outfielders.

Benching Grisham at this point in time isn't feasible, but flipping him and Jones in the outfield alignment is. Right field is the smallest area in the yard, so it makes sense to put Grisham out there while using Jones to shore up the defense.

Boone won't do that, though. As we know, he's fiercely loyal to "his guys" to the point that it warps his view of reality. The thing is, the Yankees can't afford to sacrifice defense when the offense is in so much trouble, but Boone doesn't see the problem, and it will continue to cost New York.

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