When the Yankees acquired Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres, Trent Grisham came with him and people (mostly) forgot about him during the 2024 season.
He was a fourth outfielder who never actually threatened Alex Verdugo for playing time and didn’t play a role in October on the team’s run to the World Series, but he’d certainly become a known name in 2025.
34 home runs and an .811 OPS this past season made Grisham one of the most unlikely breakouts of the year, but did we get signs of this happening before?
To some this was an out-of-nowhere occurance, but we actually saw this ‘breakout’ start during that very 2024 season where he was never seriously considered a starting option in the outfield.
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Trent Grisham’s Breakout Started In his First Year With the Yankees
Last season was a magical year for Trent Grisham, who timed the breakout perfectly to land a one-year $22.03 million contract, a deal he couldn’t have imagined landing as he began ramping up for the 2025 season.
Not only was he declining as a centerfielder while being a below-average hitter, but he was also unlikely to win a starting spot on the team unless injuries popped up in the outfield.
Ben Rice had grabbed the DH spot while Giancarlo Stanton nursed a double-elbow injury, Cody Bellinger was added to play centerfield, and Jasson Dominguez was the team’s unquestioned starter out in left field.
2024 wasn’t much different when it came to playing time, Alex Verdugo was added to play left field while Juan Soto and Aaron Judge were elite-level hitters occupying the other two outfield spots.
It didn’t help that he had as many hits as he did double plays grounded into (2) as the calendar flipped to June during that 2024 campaign, but behind the scenes he was working on an adjustment that would turn his career around.
Trent Grisham announced himself to the national stage with a dramatic go-ahead home run against the Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball just seconds after being showered with ‘We Want Soto’ chants.
From June onward, the left-handed outfielder had a .770 OPS and a .738 xOPS, indicating that his process at the plate was not too far behind the strong offensive results.
2024 saw Grisham post his highest Pull AIR% (20%), Hard-Hit% (46.4%), Average Exit Velocity (90.6), and Barrel% (12%), metrics he would all set new career-highs in during the 2025 season.
As a left-handed hitter on the Yankees, improvements in these specific skills could have massive effects on your SLG% and overall slashline with that short porch in right field.
A funny quirk about that 2025 season was how despite how perfect the ballpark was for his swing, the Yankees saw his OPS increase by over 200 points on the road.
No one expected such an excellent offensive season from Grisham, but the seeds were planted quietly while he was stashed away on the Yankees’ bench.
The adjustments made during 2024 set him up to perform even better in 2025, and the Yankees are hoping for a strong follow-up act in 2026.