During the New York Yankees end-of-season press conference, which was full of injury updates on Anthony Volpe and Carlos Rodon (as well as constant defense of their decision to play an injured Volpe for nearly six more months), a notable development went unnoticed. The biggest questions about the upcoming offseason have to do with the upcoming free agencies of Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. Bellinger is expected to opt out of his contract (no surprise) and Grisham is expected to hit the open market for the first time in his career (after a standout season).
At one point, many thought both might return. Re-signing Bellinger in this weak free agent class really seemed like a necessity (and probably still is). And Grisham? That’s a little more complicated. The Yankees could offer him the 2026 qualifying offer, which would guarantee him $22,025,000 on a one-year contract, but his poor playoff performance may have changed the thinking about it. It’s likely someone will give him a multi-year contract that he would prefer; there was only a small chance that fans thought another team might have been put off by the draft pick compensation associated with signing him. Adding the qualifying offer would have given the Yankees a pick in the event of his departure.
Jasson Dominguez’s role with Yankees in 2026 anticipates exits for Cody Bellinger or Trent Grisham
In any case, it is now almost certain that one of Bellinger or Grisham will be gone this offseason, according to manager Aaron Boone‘s comments about Jasson Dominguez. Dominguez’s playing time virtually disappeared once September arrived. It began to dwindle in August, when he received only 59 plate appearances (his lowest monthly total to date) and then that number plummeted to 20 in September/October. The Yankees could not afford to put his poor defense on the field, and his offensive contributions were not a worthwhile trade-off (.719 OPS, 101 OPS+).
Now that he is expected to play “regularly” in 2026, with left field his most likely destination, that means the Yankees are leaving center field open for the possible return of Bellinger or Grisham, but there is no way they can make room for all three if Dominguez is going to get more opportunities. They managed to do it in early 2025, but that was when they had the designated hitter position open for three months with Giancarlo Stanton injured. In no case would Dominguez have consistent opportunities as a fourth outfielder with all those names on the team. The perfect scenario could be to retain Bellinger and use him primarily in left field, while Dominguez would return to his natural role in center field. But as bringing Bellinger back is not a guarantee, they will probably need to keep the center field spot vacant right now in case Grisham becomes their backup plan if Belli leaves.
Either way, unless the Yankees are blatantly lying here (don’t underestimate them) and plan to trade Dominguez in the offseason, expect the outfield situation to change with one of their 30-homer hitters wearing a new uniform in 2026.
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