Michael Kay all but confirms Yankees started their offseason with a massive mistake

New York Yankees fans had a negative gut reaction to the club offering the $22.025 million qualifying offer to outfielder Trent Grisham; and when Grisham accepted it, online rioting ensued.

General manager Brian Cashman didn't exactly quell the tempest of backlash in November with his explanation of the Grisham QO offer. Essentially, Cashman said that if Grisham repeats his 2025 production in 2026, the salary will fit the player. What Cashman left out is that Grisham's 2025 production had never happened before in his career ... ever.

"We believe the changes he made are real," Cashman said of Grisham's career year. They sure better be, Yankees fans are thinking, especially if the Grisham signing ends up mucking up the Yanks' ongoing pursuit of Cody Bellinger.

Michael Kay just doubled down on the notion that Yankees gambled and lost with Trent Grisham qualifying offer

Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay was asked by Jon Heyman of The New York Post this week whether or not the Yanks knew what they were doing with the Grisham QO. Heyman alluded to "whispers" around MLB that the Yankees assumed Grisham was going to decline the QO and seek more money on the open market. This, of course, would mean that Cashman made a huge mistake.

Kay suggested that that's exactly what went down, especially if the Yankees are committed to keeping payroll under $304 million and had always planned to bring back Bellinger.

What makes the Grisham error all the more painful is that the Yankees' offseason that's followed it has been massively underwhelming. The best minds covering the Yankees were assuming back in November with optimism that Grisham's decision was the precursor to a blockbuster trade from Cashman. Nothing remotely close to that has happened.

If Cashman had showed some gusto and splurged on Tatsuya Imai to bolster a rehab-afflicted rotation (or even went for former Yankee Michael King), Yankees fans wouldn't be revisiting the Grisham mess, and perhaps nor would Kay. Instead, this Yankees offseason has reminded fans that nothing comes from nothing, unless you're a Cade Winquest stan.

Alas, with Yankees fans staring at a possible Dominguez-Jones left field situation, it's unbelievable that the 2024 season was a thing less than 24 months ago. Gone are the days of Judge and Juan Soto making the Yankees seem like they were back — if only for a moment — and in their place have arrived nervous hopes that Grisham's '25 wasn't the outlier it looked like.