The duo of Bellinger and Grisham mixed for 63 homers and eight.1 WAR (per FanGraphs) in 2025, leaving New York with some main questions to deal with on that entrance within the weeks and months forward.
They might additionally prolong a qualifying provide to Grisham earlier than Thursday’s deadline, permitting them to retain him for $22.025 million subsequent yr — an inexpensive wage for a middle fielder coming off a 34-homer season — or place the membership to obtain Draft compensation if he had been to signal elsewhere. Though the Yankees could be hesitant to threat providing that a lot to a participant who hit .191 with a .651 OPS from 2022-24, let’s assume that they will in the end accomplish that, and that Grisham will settle for.
If Grisham does certainly return, here is how the Yankees may tackle the remainder of their outfield going into 2026, ranked from almost definitely to least doubtless.
Bellinger has already proven how completely his ability set aligns with the Yankees’ roster. His capability to play heart area supplies an important degree of defensive flexibility, and his left-handed swing is tailored for Yankee Stadium’s quick right-field porch. (His 2025 dwelling run spray chart, included beneath, is proof of that.) He additionally hardly strikes out, a welcome distinction for a Yankees lineup that options a whole lot of swing and miss.
With all of that in thoughts, it would not be a shock to see the Bronx Bombers prioritize re-signing the 30-year-old Bellinger this offseason.
2. Work the commerce market once more
The outfield commerce market has served the Yankees properly in every of the previous two offseasons, with New York buying Juan Soto (and Grisham) from the Padres in December 2023 earlier than swinging a commerce with the Cubs to land Bellinger final yr.
3. Add a right-handed bat in free company
On condition that Grisham and Jones bat left-handed and Domínguez has struggled towards lefties (.530 profession OPS) regardless of being a switch-hitter, the Yankees may look to signal a kind of gamers as a complementary piece if they do not find yourself reeling in a much bigger identify. This route would give the Yanks some measure of insurance coverage whereas nonetheless leaving the door open for Domínguez and/or Jones to change into common contributors.
That stated, there are additionally causes to imagine that the Yankees will not be on the forefront of the Tucker sweepstakes, particularly when Bellinger is on the market as a lower-cost different who affords extra flexibility on protection. The membership has Choose entrenched in proper area and signed for six extra seasons at $40 million per yr, and Tucker doesn’t play heart area, which suggests the Yankees would doubtless be utilizing him in left area. Whereas Tucker is actually a superb hitter, it is truthful to wonder if the Yankees would wish to make investments that closely at a non-premium place for a participant who is not fairly a famous person.
