Spencer Jones vs. Trent Grisham: Who Should Start in Center Field Moving Forward?

Over the last few weeks, a new roster question for the New York Yankees has emerged as certain players' performances start to surge or falter.

The new hot topic on the Yankees' current roster/lineup construction starts in center field with veteran Trent Grisham and rookie Spencer Jones.

Since Spencer Jones has been called up for his third stint of the season, the lefty slugger has started to adjust to Major League pitching while continuing to play above-average defense in the outfield.

On the other hand, with Trent Grisham, the eight-year outfielder's performance has taken a downward turn since a couple of solid months at the plate in the spring, along with defensive struggles, too.

Each player's performance has started to create conversations among the media and fans about who should be manning center field for most of the time as we creep towards the playoffs: the surging rookie or the usually trustworthy, experienced veteran?

Spencer Jones surging at the plate in third MLB stint

Jones is a name many fans had been waiting to see in the MLB for quite some time after showing impressive power through the minors, and this season he has finally gotten some playing time with the team in the Bronx.

In Jones's first call-up, the 25-year-old only saw 24 ABs and was used mostly as a platoon bat, as the Yankees shielded him from facing left-handed pitching.

In his most recent call-up due to Cody Bellinger's hamstring injury, Jones has flipped the script and has been excelling against left-handed pitching. Jones is actually sporting reverse splits through his young MLB career now, including a .320 average (8-for-25) and a 1.113 OPS against southpaws.

All of this culminated this past weekend with Jones roping a clutch RBI Triple against one of the hardest left-handed pitchers in the game, Chris Sale. This felt like a true sign that the former first-round pick is becoming more comfortable and confident at the dish.

SPENCER JONES TIES THE GAME WITH A TRIPLE pic.twitter.com/l8przZuyOm
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 8, 2026

However, Jones has struggled against right-handed pitching in his young MLB career so far, logging a .183 average and a .577 OPS. But three of his five career homers have come against right-handed pitching.

There is also a more reasonable expectation that he starts to get better against RHP with more ABs, and it's just an unexpected positive thing that he has shown early success against lefties.

A big part of Jones' profile as a hitter is tons of power combined with a lot of swing-and-miss, which everyone knew needed an extended adjustment period in the majors.

Over Jones's last 11 games, the tall lefty has launched three homers and posted a .786 OPS, while also walking five times and stealing three bags. A sign of things heating up for Jones. He has also struck out 11 times during that stretch.

On the defensive side, Jones is a solid outfielder with great athleticism who has shown he can play any outfield position, including center field, which is the position he mainly played in the minors.

That said, Jones must produce at the plate to claim Grisham's CF position, but his superior glove makes this likely, especially considering Grisham's struggles on both sides of the ball.

Trent Grisham's troubles are plaguing him at the plate and in the field

After coming off the 2025 season, where Grisham launched 34 home runs while posting an OPS north of .800, the 2026 contract year for Grisham has been a bit of a different story.

While a lot of people were not expecting the same type of production at the plate, it's the fact that his defense and his offense have both taken a step back in 2026.

There have been several plays over the last few months that leave fans wondering why the more athletic Jones is not penciled in as the center fielder on most days.

Trent Grisham misplays this ball and hands Trea Turner a leadoff triple pic.twitter.com/PN1StdrtcJ
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 26, 2026

It's also not just the eye test that leaves fans and the media wondering about this. In 2026 so far, Grisham is logging a -5 DRS, a -4 OAA, and a -2 FRV, showing he is below average in basically every major defensive statistic.

On the offensive side of things, Grisham's struggles have gotten worse recently and have been put more in the spotlight as Jones starts to show some promise at the plate.

Since the beginning of July (32 games), Grisham has posted a .175 batting average (20-for-114) with a flat .600 OPS, well below league average. Since July 19th, it's been even worse, recording a .143 batting average (11-for-77) with a lowly .493 OPS.

All of these points are why this is even a conversation and why Grisham is even at risk of losing his spot in center field.

One positive thing Grisham has going for him is his clutchness at the plate. Since 2025, Grisham has led the MLB with 11 home runs in high-leverage situations. We saw this over this past weekend after he hit a game-tying home run in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves.

Final conclusion

As the Yankees roster gets healthier and pushes toward playoff baseball in October, some clarity about the CF position will certainly need to be addressed if Grisham's struggles continue.

While many people will point to Jones being a high-strikeout bat with much less MLB experience, there comes a time when you have to understand that Jones also provides more stable center field defense and currently more promise at the plate.

It has yet to be seen or heard whether the Yankees have even considered moving Grisham off center field, but the conversation will continue to grow louder if Jones can hit consistently, because we already know the defense is better.

In my own personal opinion, I believe that Jones is going to need to show several more weeks of solid hitting before the team makes that switch, especially given Grisham's aforementioned ability to hit in high-leverage situations and general track record.

The playoffs are not the time to try things out with lineup construction, and time is running out in the regular season. Therefore, Grisham will have to get back on track, or Jones will have to force the Yankees' hand in the coming weeks.

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