Embarrassing Trent Grisham lapses should fuel drastic Yankees change ahead of ALDS vs. Rays

Believe it or not, there was once a time when New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham was a Gold Glover. In fact, the former San Diego Padre took home the honor twice, once in 2020 and the second time in 2022.

Grisham was much more spry back then, as the last time he won the award, he was just 25 years old. Now, a month shy of his 30th birthday, he's a much different player. While his glove was once his calling card, defense has been an issue for Grisham all year long.

While it ended up being a non-factor, Grisham's performance in center hit a new low in Game 2 against the Boston Red Sox when, with one out in the bottom of the third, Boston's Nate Eaton "doubled" to center field.

What really happened on the play was Eaton hit a blooper out to shallow center that fell in front of Grisham, who looked as if he were out for a leisurely stroll. On the play, he managed a sprint speed of 23.5 feet per second. Only three players (Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon, and old friend Jose Trevino) posted slower sprint speeds this season. The youngest among that group is the 33-year-old Trevino. All three are catchers.

Heading into the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, this could become a real problem, and it's one that has been obvious for a while.

The Yankees are in a no-win situation with Trent Grisham heading into matchup against the Rays

Once Spencer Jones began establishing himself as a hitter, it became clear that he should take over center field duties from Grisham. Well, obvious to everyone but Aaron Boone. During an appearance on the Talkin' Yanks podcast back in mid-August,Boone was defiant in defense of Grisham's performance in the field after a series of lackluster, plodding performances.

Now, while it's clear that Grisham has declined substantially in the field, a pair of hamstring injuries this year have done some damage as well, and he might still be dealing with the effects of his most recent one suffered on September 5.

A few factors are going to magnify his defensive deficiencies even more against Tampa. First, the Rays have a heavily right-handed pitching staff, meaning benching Grisham, sliding Jones to center, and inserting Heliot Ramos into right field isn't ideal offensively.

Second, while it might make sense to simply flip-flop Grisham and Jones, New York missed the boat on getting the struggling center fielder acclimated in the corners, and as we've seen with Jasson Dominguez, it's not always as simple as a center fielder being able to play a less-demanding outfield position without issue.

Finally, the Rays have home-field advantage, and Tropicana Field presents a unique set of challenges for outfielders. For one, the roof makes it hard to get a read on fly balls, making closing speed all the more important. The other big factor is that the turf there plays very fast, so cutting balls off in the gap is no picnic, even for guys who run well.

Grisham ranked dead last among qualified center fielders with -6 outs above average. His -8 defensive runs saved tied for second-to-last in MLB. While not 23.5 feet per second, his average sprint speed this season is 26.8 feet per second, a 34th-percentile mark.

One way or another, the Yankees are going to have to choose between less-than-ideal options. Either they roll with Grisham in center and hope the ball doesn't go his way, play him out of position, or bench him for Heliot Ramos and lose the platoon matchup. They could have prepared for this very obvious scenario much better, but they didn't, and now they must hope it doesn't cost them.

Spencer Jones in center, Jose Caballero in right, anyone?

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