Trent Grisham parlayed one hell of a year for the New York Yankees into a $22 million qualifying offer that we all assumed was perfunctory. Instead, he accepted it, locking down a spot in the Yankees' outfield after slamming 34 homers and racking up 3.5 bWAR last season. That really happened.
This year, he's produced just 13 bombs alongside a 97 OPS+, slightly below-average offense (that tends to tick up in late-and-close scenarios. Unfortunately, his defense in center field has felt further below-average than his bat, a step slow and $22 million short. Some of that's based on the degradation of his speed. Some of it seems mental, and righty Will Warren got bitten by that half of Grisham's regression on Wednesday night.
In an early 3-0 hole after two home runs (Randy Arozarena, duh, and Julio Rodriguez), Warren clearly wasn't in the mental headspace to accept any other bumps in the road, specifically those he didn't cause. When Grisham deferred to rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. and let a ball that should've been his fall in for a bloop base hit to begin the second, Warren was spotted lashing out with an angered response.
Specifically, you could read his lips pretty easily: "God DAMN it, dude!"
Will Warren was visibly upset with Trent Grisham https://t.co/rEiUksjABS pic.twitter.com/VkTGvCowHe
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 12, 2026
Yankees' early deficit has nothing to do with Trent Grisham, but Will Warren's still fed up
Warren somehow managed to work around the jam scoreless (then got victimized by Dominic Canzone the next inning for good measure). On his way off the mound, he let out another scream of frustration, clearly not ready to exhale and let it pass.
Grisham leading off and Grisham playing center will remain hot-button topics as long as the Yankees are mired in an offensive malaise, which has created a level of frustration that's not commensurate with their recent solid play. Still, it's plays like these that raise fans' eyebrows about Grisham, who's lackadaisical style is fun to follow when he's hot and grating when he's cold. He doesn't speed around the diamond like a max effort player, so fans sometimes don't judge him as such. Unfortunately, the flubs are magnified - and a Yankees pitcher cursing in full view won't help that narrative cool.
Warren, of course, flubbed, too. On three home runs and counting.
