Brian Cashman's next Yankees lie is now obvious after Trent Grisham's decision

During his virtual cameo at the GM Meetings, Brian Cashman told members of the press that his decision to extend a $22 million, one-year qualifying offer to Trent Grisham would not impact the Yankees' pursuit of Cody Bellinger, who is poised to be the second-most chased outfielder on the free agent market this offseason. When he said that, the commonly held viewpoint was that Grisham planned to decline the offer, as reported by Jon Heyman.

Cashman's boast that they'd soldier on in the Bellinger chase, independent of Grisham's choice, was an easy thing to say when it seemed like they'd never have to worry about that $22 million rock weighing down their payroll. Now that Grisham has accepted the terms? It's only a matter of time before Cashman begins to pivot and spin.

Sure. It's possible that the Yankees, with nothing in their outfield decided beyond 2026 except for Aaron Judge (who's certainly going to have to be kept off his feet, at some point), still go above and beyond to retain Bellinger, icing out both Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones for another season. If that happens, there is no chance that the Yankees won't use both Bellinger and Grisham as roadblocks in some other necessary pursuit. We've seen it too many times.

At our most generous, Cashman's statement can be taken as a lie of omission. Sure. Maybe Grisham's pivot won't affect a Bellinger pursuit. But Grisham and Bellinger will certainly affect the team's Tatsuya Imai chase. Grisham's $22 million could be the difference between obtaining two necessary bullpen arms and hoping that Harrison Cohen can get the job done internally.

Yankees now staring down the barrel of a rocky offseason after Trent Grisham decision

Last week, we'd hoped that the Yankees offered Grisham the QO because they were confident he'd turn it down, and had market intel that we didn't. Instead, the far more likely outcome occurred: mid-tier teams that were intrigued by Grisham weren't willing to surrender a draft pick to sign him, he became a poison pill, and the Yankees' one-year MegaMillions offer suddenly seemed more appealing than the 50 feet of two-year-deal crap he was handed facetiously by other "interested parties".

If the Yankees were ever going to extend their budget to make an offseason meal rather than turtle in the face of an unexpected shift, that time would be now — but even a full-fledged offseason spending spree wouldn't solve the Dominguez/Jones issue. Now, the Yankees are stuck in the worst of both worlds, and it'll take some discomfort and creativity to escape it.