Trent Grisham's official qualifying offer decision just rocked Yankees' offseason

Well, there you have it, New York Yankees fans. The team will have at least one true center fielder come 2026 after Trent Grisham made his official decision on the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer.

The latest reports suggest Grisham will be accepting the one-year pact despite reports to the contrary over the last week. MLB insider Jon Heyman said the Yankees were confident he would have plenty of suitors in free agency and reject it.

Silly us! We believed that and figured Brian Cashman was pulling off a mediocre draft heist, stealing a fourth-round pick from whatever team that signed Grisham. Actually ... not silly us! Because we warned against the high-risk, low-reward nature of this exercise, and the Yankees just got burned (if they were expecting him to reject it).

Then again, Cashman didn't seem fazed by the idea of Grisham accepting when he spoke at the GM Meetings last week, claiming that $22.05 million investment would not affect the team's pursuit of other free agents, namely Cody Bellinger.

But can we really believe that? The Yankees' payroll just went from $238 million to $260 million with one potentially ill-advised decision. They're paying top of market to Grisham, who just had an outlier of an offensive season. Can he replicate it? Maybe! But it's far from a sure thing given his career track record.

Not only that, but this reeks of the Yankees "running it back" for 2026 based on the personnel they have. Sure, others are hitting free agency and some will get non-tendered, but Grisham returning will limit playing time for one of Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones. Or it will prevent another high-dollar expenditure that could have further revolutionized the lineup in a different manner.

We will say, back in August many fans were on board with the Grisham qualifying offer move. At that point, maintaining the status quo didn't seem like the worst thing in the world. The Yankees were rebounding after their summer swoon, making a push for the division, and seemed to be setting themselves up for a lovely postseason run.

But once again, their flaws were exposed on the biggest stage in October, and the perspective shifted on a dime. Grisham at $22.025 million is the market price, yes, but it's a prohibitive one that will undoubtedly limit the Yankees' roster and financial flexibility.

Wonder what CashGod has up his sleeve next!