Considered a throw-in to the Juan Soto trade and sparingly used last season, no one expected Trent Grisham to hit 25 home runs for the Yankees this year.

And yet, with more than a month to go in the regular season, Grisham has already reached that personal best. The center fielder made it there on Sunday, clubbing two solo shots as the Yankees prevented a four-game sweep with a 7-2 victory over the Red Sox on “Sunday Night Baseball.”

“He’s been great, man,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also homered twice in the win. “He’s been a spark plug.”

With Grisham and Chisholm totaling four longballs, the Yankees “improved” to 2-8 against the Red Sox this season. The Bombers are now a half-game back of Boston for the American League’s top Wild Card spot.

Chisholm started the scoring for a previously dormant offense with a two-run homer off Dustin May in the second inning. He pulled another two-run jack in the eighth off Walker Buehler.

José Caballero, starting in place of Anthony Volpe, added a sac fly in the fourth after Giancarlo Stanton reached on a 117.8-mph double. An erratic Carlos Rodón also did well enough on the mound, limiting the Red Sox to one hit and two earned runs over 5.2 innings despite a 5-to-3 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

Afterward, Rodón sung Grisham’s praises, using words such as “unbelievable” and “remarkable” to describe his fellow lefty’s season.

“He’s resilient,” Chisholm added of Grisham. “He goes with his approach. He doesn’t really swing at balls. He doesn’t really chase. He will force you to throw in the strike zone before he swings at a ball out of the zone most of the time. That’s what you need out of a leadoff guy, especially when you got some pop like he has.”

Grisham’s fourth multi-homer outing of the season earned him the Yankees’ Player of the Game belt. He entered the contest 1-for-17 against May, but he took the pitcher deep in the third before tagging the righty again in the fifth. All in all, the leadoff man totaled 819 feet worth of dingers while going 2-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.

“I faced him a lot,” Grisham said of May, a former foe when the two played in the National League West. “I always felt like I put up pretty good at-bats against him, maybe just nothing to show for it.”

Grisham, who has repeatedly attributed his success to his improved mental health, now has an .820 OPS and a 131 wRC+ this season. Both would be perfectly-timed career-highs, as he is set for free agency this offseason.

“I’m doing everything I can to just really stay present with the team and continue the good year,” Grisham told the Daily News. “I would be lying if I said it hasn’t crossed my mind, but every time it does, I really try to get back into the present.”

It will be interesting to see what type of deal Grisham signs, and whether his current employer will pursue a reunion, as the 28-year-old owned a .697 OPS and a 95 wRC+ over six seasons with the Brewers, Padres and Yanks prior to this breakout offensive campaign, which has included plenty of clutch moments.

He has never hit like this before, but that doesn’t mean he can’t keep it up in the future.

“This is a former first-round pick, talented guy. Everyone’s trajectory is not like this,” Aaron Boone said, gesturing a straight line. “It’s a hard game. Hitting in the big leagues is hard. You see countless examples of guys finding themselves, really figuring it out a little bit, especially offensively, as their career unfolds. He’s had success. He’s hit for some power, but certainly, this is the best offensive season by a lot that he’s had.

“I think it’s a testament to talent meeting experience and having a plan.”

While Grisham is having his best year at the plate yet, metrics have been less kind to his defense this season, which will certainly play into his free agency. A two-time Gold Glove winner who was impacted by a nagging hamstring for several weeks this summer, Grisham entered Friday’s game with -2 Outs Above Average, the worst mark of his career.

Also factoring into Grisham’s future are the Yankees’ other outfielders. Aaron Judge and Jasson Domínguez are under contract for years to come, while Cody Bellinger has a player option for next season and a track record more deserving of a big deal should he opt out, the likely scenario given the season he’s enjoyed.

Spencer Jones, one of the Yankees’ top prospects, is also part of the puzzle, and there’s always the potential to sign an external free agent like Kyle Tucker to a long-term contract.

The Yankees could extend a one-year qualifying offer to Grisham, which would net the team a draft pick if he were to sign elsewhere. If Grisham were to accept the offer, the Yankees would be on the hook for a sizable salary in 2026.

Last winter, the 2025 qualifying offer was set at $21.05 million.

Of course, all that is still a few months away from serious consideration. For now, Grisham is a Yankee looking to set a few more career-highs before a potential playoff run and his first crack at the open market.

However, he did admit that he wouldn’t mind continuing his career in the Bronx.

“I like this place a lot,” Grisham said. “I like the guys we have in the clubhouse. I like New York. There’s a lot of things I like about it, so we’ll see.”

https://www.courant.com/2025/08/25/yankees-avoid-red-sox-sweep-ptrent-grisham-mlb/