Michael Kay gives perfect 360 response to Yankees' Trent Grisham qualifying offer

The offseason is just getting underway, and the New York Yankees have already made a baffling decision. The reason not to give Trent Grisham was already clear: in the best-case scenario, they'll get a comp pick after the fourth round; in the worst case, they've put themselves on the hook to take a $22 million gamble that his 2025 campaign was no fluke.

It just feels like a lose-lose situation, and one that truly doesn't make a lot of sense for multiple reasons. Michael Kay broke down all the angles as to why the move is a head-scratcher, and there's more than simply the cost and potential paltry return.

Michael Kay explains all the ways in which the Yankees giving Trent Grisham the qualifying offer is a bad move

Kay begins by saying that he believes if Grisham "is smart, he's taking that money." Kay states that in doing so, Grisham would be making more in one year than he has made to date in his entire career. That's not entirely accurate, per Spotrac Grisham has made $23.7 million to date, but he would nearly match what he's made in his entire career and get a gigantic raise from the $5 million he made in 2025.

The more important point that Kay makes is, why wouldn't he take a massive payday and bet on himself again next offseason, knowing full well that he won't have the QO anchoring down his earning potential?

Furthermore, Kay rebuts the idea that the money doesn't matter because it would only be for one year, pointing out that there is such a thing as a bad one-year contract because if you grossly overpay, that's money in the budget that can't be spent elsewhere.

The Yankees have a lot of needs. Some are major, like figuring out center field and the bullpen. Some are pressing, like getting rotation insurance following Carlos Rodón's elbow surgery. And some are sneaky, like getting competition for Anthony Volpe at shortstop or a right-handed platoon partner for Ryan McMahon at third. Overpaying Grisham on a one-year deal likely means one or more of those go unfilled.

Kay's next point is that the Yankees are too left-handed. Jazz Chisholm, McMahon, Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Jasson Dominguez (for all intents and purposes, given his struggles batting from the right side) are all lefties. Kay mentions Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker as well, meaning he doesn't believe that giving Grisham the QO necessarily takes the Yankees out of the running for either of those stars.

Lastly, Kay references how Grisham plus a Bellinger reunion or Tucker addition would block Spencer Jones and relegate Jasson Dominguez to a very small role off the bench. The silver lining there is that those two could serve as trade chips. Does $22 million for Grisham plus leveraging one or both of those two youngsters in a trade for an ace make the Yankees better than if they simply had that money to spend on the open market?

That depends on who the ace is. If it's Tarik Skubal, then you can sell it. If it's someone else, well, maybe not.

At the end of the day, Kay's right on multiple fronts. The Yankees could likely have retained Grisham for less money on a one-year deal or a two-year pact with an opt-out after 2026. They could also simply pursue better alternatives like Bellinger and/or Tucker. And they should be thinking about the roster construction and how to become more balanced.

Overall, unless there's an ace up their sleeve that no one knows about, it's just hard to see the logic behind the move, regardless of which angle you're looking from.