As the Kansas City Royals look to reload and rebuild in hopes of making a playoff push in 2026 after missing the postseason in 2025, some players would be good ideas and some who would be bad ideas.
And then some players might seem to be a good idea, but it’s hard to see a natural fit. New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham fits into that third bucket.
Grisham was recently raised as a possible free agent target for the Royals by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. However, it’s hard to figure out why. His power stroke this year is undoubtedly attractive, but there are still so many reasons as to why it feels like Kauffman Stadium wouldn’t be home sweet home for the center fielder.
“Essentially an afterthought in the trade that sent Juan Soto from the Padres to the Yankees before the 2024 season, Grisham wound up being a key bat in replacing Soto’s production in New York’s 2025 lineup,” Feisand wrote. “Grisham belted 34 home runs — double his previous high — while setting career bests in RBIs (74), OPS (.811), and OPS+ (125). Grisham also ranked near the top of the league in walk percentage (96th percentile) and chase percentage (99th), posting a career-best 3.5 bWAR.”
How would the Kansas City Royals make Trent Grisham a fit?
Feinsand pegged the Royals, Mets, and Rangers as possible suitors.
The problem for Kansas City is that, as bad as the offense has been, and it’s clear the team wants to upgrade it, would he be an upgrade in 2026? It’s worth noting that Grisham’s 125 OPS+ was not only a career high but also quite a leap from his previous three seasons, where he was a decidedly below-average offensive player.
Want another reason why he’s not a fit for the Royals? He’s a lefty, which the Royals are chock-full of (especially in the outfield), even before adding anyone this winter.
Then there’s the fact that he’s not great defensively, especially for a center fielder. His fielding run value was in the 29th percentile at -3 according to Baseball Savant. Compare that to the Royals’ starter in center in 2025, Kyle Isbel, who was in the 93rd percentile and +10 in the same category. Isbel’s offense left a lot to be desired, but it’s hard to see him being taken out of the field if he’s still on the roster.
There’s one more big reason why Trent Grisham wouldn’t be a fit. There’s a bit of talk that the Yankees will give the centerfielder a qualifying offer. Should that happen, the Kansas City Royals would have to lose more than money if they wanted to sign him.
It’s easy to get excited about the above average bat he was on a postseason team like the Yankees this year, but Grisham seems like he could be a headache the Royals would soon regret.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
