The Yankees announced that center fielder Trent Grisham has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Outfielder Jasson Dominguez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
The IL placement comes as no surprise after Grisham was forced out of yesterday’s game (a 3-2 Yankees loss to the Padres) in the third inning. Grisham told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters that he started feeling some discomfort in his hamstring during a stolen base attempt in the top of the second, and in the bottom of the frame, Grisham was moving slowly while approaching a Xander Bogaerts fly ball that fell into shallow center field for an RBI single. He was replaced in the field prior to the bottom of the third inning, with Spencer Jones moving from right field to center and Heliot Ramos taking over in right field.
Jones and Cody Bellinger figure to get most of the center field playing time while Grisham is sidelined, though Bellinger has played only left field since he returned from his own month-long IL stint due to a hamstring strain. That could make Jones the top option up the middle, though the rookie has been passable (-1 Outs Above Average, -1 Defensive Runs Saved) over 152 1/3 innings in center this season.
Aaron Judge took batting practice yesterday, and though the superstar will still need to face live pitching in some form before being activated from the 60-day IL, it looks as though Judge might be back in New York’s lineup before the week is over. Judge’s seemingly impending return will lessen the impact of Grisham’s injury, even if Judge will probably get a few more DH days than usual instead of a full-time assignment in right field. The group of Judge, Bellinger, Jones, Ramos, Dominguez, and utilitymen Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario still provides the Yankees with plenty of outfield depth.
The severity of Grisham’s strain isn’t yet known, though he missed about three weeks due to another strain to that same right hamstring in June and early July. A recurring injury could mean that Grisham misses a bit more time now, which would put his availability in question for the start of the playoffs.
The hamstring problems have added to an all-around difficult year for Grisham, who is hitting .211/.308/.395 with 18 home runs over 484 plate appearances. His once-elite center field glove has now been drastically subpar for the second straight year, so while Jones isn’t exactly a premium defender, he’ll still be an upgrade over Grisham in center field.
Grisham’s 98 wRC+ this year is pretty much in line with his 101 wRC+ career average, but more was expected after Grisham broke out for 34 homers during a 128 wRC+ season for the Yankees in 2025. These numbers led the Yankees to issue Grisham a $22.025MM qualifying offer last fall as he entered free agency, and Grisham chose to take the QO rather than test the open market. With at least 10 more days lost on the IL, Grisham will have even less time to mount a late-season surge, so he is probably looking at another one-year contract (at a much lesser salary than $22.025MM) as a free agent this winter.
