New York Yankees fans descended into crisis mode this week when outfielder Trent Grisham surprisingly accepted his $22.025 qualifying offer for the 2026 season. While Grisham had a career year in 2025 replete with 34 home runs, Yankees fans had already planned for his departure as a means to pursue other free agents and/or provide opportunities to stud outfield prospect Spencer Jones in 2026. Well, it turns out Grisham will once again be manning center field for the Yankees next year alongside Aaron Judge in right. It remains to be seen who the Yankees will end up having fill the third spot in the outfield. Brian Cashman has been clear about New York’s desire to re-sign Cody Bellinger. The Yanks are also one of the teams linked to Kyle Tucker. But it’ll be more than a few days before Yankees fans can move past the confusion and head-scratching nature of the Grisham outcome. Some fans are wondering if Cashman offered Grisham the QO with the expectation that Grisham would decline it and seek a better deal elsewhere, thereby setting up the Yankees to receive draft compensation. Story continues below advertisement If Cashman did feel that way, it wouldn’t have been unwarranted. Grisham’s productive season could very well have landed him a multi-year deal amounting to a total dollar figure north of $22 million. Did Grisham opt to return to New York because his market wasn’t as lucrative as supposed? It’s difficult to know, although Cashman did discuss his side of the situation on Thursday in a street-side interview. Cashman was literally sleeping on the street on Thursday as part of the Sleep Out fundraiser to combat youth homelessness in New York City. Yankees reporters took the opportunity to ask an out-and-about Cashman some questions about baseball. Story continues below advertisement When pressed on Grisham by reporter Ryan Garcia, particularly in regard to why Cashman offered Grisham the QO, Cashman basically said that $22 million will be a great price for Grisham if he’s able to replicate what he did last season. “We believe the changes he made are real,” Cashman said of Grisham, indicating that another big season is plausible. “We think that the player that he showed he was last year, if he stays injury-free, he can continue to ride that wave.” Story continues below advertisement Cashman also noted that the outfielder market is thin this offseason. He identified Grisham as the third-best outfielder on that market outside of Tucker and Bellinger. It was also notable that Cashman described the Yankees as having two vacancies in their outfield (one, now that Grisham is back). This pretty much reveals that Cashman and the Yankees’ leadership don’t view Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez as potential everyday outfielders in 2026.