Yankees outfielder could be smart offseason trade target for Rays

With Jose Siri's future with the Rays on shaky ground, the center field position is a hot topic for the team heading into this offseason.

One interesting option likely to be available is lefty outfielder, Trent Grisham.

The former Padre, Brewer, and most recently, Yankee is a defense-first player, and he's unlikely to be resigned by the Yankees as he enters his final year of arbitration.

Grisham is projected to earn $5.1 million in his final year of arbitration according to Spotrac.

For a team due to resign Juan Soto, aid for their pitching staff, and infielders, a 4th outfielder is a luxury they aren't likely to spend that kind of money on. This case scenario could make Grisham a non-tender candidate.

If that comes to fruition, would the Rays be wise to target the 28-year old in free agency?
For the right price, absolutely!

Roaming center in San Diego, Grisham was +13 and +7 in Outs Above Average for the 2022 and 2023 season, playing over 1,000 innings at the demanding position each season.

He played exclusively in center field while in New York, but was limited to only 485.1 innings for the year according to FanGraphs.

Fortunately, he was able to sport a 91 wRC+, a more than acceptable mark for any team that doesn't have Soto and Aaron Judge eating up innings in the outfield. Grisham's value takes a nose dive if you move his glove-first approach to a corner spot, explaining why he wasn't playing above the slightly better hitting Alex Verdugo in left field.

For the Rays, they won't have that problem. Jonny DeLuca could fight for the center field role and the Rays could hang onto Siri. On the plus side, having an extra outfielder who can cover as much ground as Grisham would benefit the club's depth and give the present outfielders some much needed competition.

If the Rays decided to move on from Siri, Grisham can be a fine stop-gap until the Rays feel DeLuca is ready.

The Rays don't have many left-handed bats in their lineup outside of Brandon Lowe (who could still be traded), Josh Lowe, and Ben Rortvedt, meaning Grisham would bring some welcome balance to a righty-heavy roster.

The big concern with Grisham is his offense. He's always put up good chase rate numbers, but that hasn't led to a high on-base percentage, and his slugging has never been a strong suit. Most years display his quality of contact numbers near the bottom of the league.

Although, the Rays have never been shy about their approach being defense-oriented and pitching first, so Grisham would be right in line with that philosophy. Plus, his production would still be higher than Siri's last year. The hope is that Grisham is an improvement in those departments, even with the slight step down defensively.

Of course, Grisham will have many other suitors, and the Rays aren't going to get into any major bidding wars.

Nonetheless, the two-time Gold Glover would be an exciting addition to a Rays team in need of some change to their lineup.