Yankees did the NY Mets a favor with their qualifying offer decision

It’s rare that the New York Mets can thank the New York Yankees for anything other than extra bulletin board material, but here we are. When the Bronx front office extended a qualifying offer to Trent Grisham, it quietly handed their crosstown rivals a gift wrapped in pinstripes. For once, the Yankees made a decision that simplified life in Queens, rather than complicating it.

Grisham had become one of those offseason curiosities, his name popping up just enough to stir conversation without sparking excitement. The idea of him patrolling center in Queens was never a full-blown dream nor a total nightmare, just a possibility that lingered. Then the Yankees made their move, and suddenly that curiosity came with consequences the Mets no longer need to wrestle with.

The Yankees’ qualifying offer on Trent Grisham made the Mets’ choice easy

November 6 marked the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers, and the Yankees decided Trent Grisham’s breakout was worth the $22 million gamble. It was a bold play on paper. Grisham’s 2025 season was a career offensive year for him — a .235 average, .348 on-base percentage, 34 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a 125 OPS+. Not MVP-level, but a full revival compared to his prior three seasons of sub-.200 hitting and a sub-.700 OPS.

The problem? His defense, once his calling card, plummeted. Grisham posted a -2 Outs Above Average and -11 Defensive Runs Saved, ranking fourth-worst among qualified center fielders. The bat finally showed up, but the glove took a vacation. For a Mets team that is putting an emphasis on run prevention, that’s a red flag wrapped in warning tape.

There was still some debate about whether the Mets should explore him anyway. With center field unsettled and Grisham’s market value floating around four years and $60 million, he represented a risky swing for upside. Once the qualifying offer came into play, the calculus changed fast.

Signing him now would cost the Mets not only that contract but also their second- and fifth-highest draft picks, plus $1 million in international bonus money. And if they were to sign another qualifying-offer player, they’d lose their third- and sixth-highest picks as well.

For a move that never made much sense, the Yankees’ offer sealed it. Whatever happens with Trent Grisham next, it’s hard to imagine the Mets staying in that conversation. Their draft capital matters too much, and their priorities sit elsewhere. In a strange twist, the Yankees might’ve just done them a favor.