NYY fans who were ‘best friends with Kim Hae-Sung trade rumors’ change their tune as Soto hits home run

The New York Yankees gave up five players when they acquired Juan Soto in a trade with the San Diego Padres on Dec. 8 of last year. Four minor league pitching prospects and veteran catcher Kyle Higashioka were paid for Soto. But San Diego threw in another outfielder in the deal: Trent Grisham.

Grisham, a left-handed hitter, was a two-time Gold Glove winner in 2020 and 2022 while in San Diego and was a stellar defender. He’s right up there with Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs and Kevin Kiermaier of the Toronto Blue Jays as one of the best defenders in center field.

However, his bat is too weak for his defense. In 2022 and last year, he batted in the single digits for the second straight year, hitting .184 and .198, respectively. He doesn’t have great power, and he doesn’t have great vision. San Diego used him as their starting center fielder by “crying and eating mustard,” but he was always a trade target.

From the winter of 2022 to the middle of last season, he was a regular subject of trade rumors alongside Kim Ha-seong. On December 31, 2022, local media outlet The Athletic published an article titled ‘Padres need starting pitching, should they trade Trent Grisham or Ha-Sung Kim?

Grisham’s hitting hasn’t changed since joining the Yankees. While he’s been a backup outfielder, his batting average is still well below expectations, but he’s been in the starting center field for the last four games, starting on July 7 against the Minnesota Twins.

He was also in the starting lineup for the three-game home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium on August 8-10. He got the opportunity while Juan Soto was resting with a sore arm. On the 10th, he batted fifth in the center field. He was batting just .083 (4-for-48) the day before.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone wondered why he put him in center field, and Grisham showed why in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Yankees trailing 2-3.

The Yankees had runners on first and third with one out in the top of the sixth after Alex Verdugo singled, Jersey grounded into a fielder’s choice and a wild pitch. Grisham then stepped to the plate and pulled a 96.8 mph four-seam fastball from Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow for a three-run shot over the right-field fence to cut the lead back to 5-3. The Yankees 토토사이트 would go on to win 6-4 and avoid a sweep of the three-game series.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game, “It was a big home run. Grisham hits fastballs well, I didn’t miss it,” Boone said, adding, ”He’s been a great teammate all season. He’s ready for anything. He’s embraced his role. We gave him a lot of opportunities this week, and he took advantage of them.”

“We needed a left-handed hitter in the middle of the order,” Boone said, “and we were hoping Grisham would be able to do that against Glasno, who is a fastball guy.

But the fans at Yankee Stadium had a strange reaction. After chanting “We want Soto!” every time Grisham stepped up to the plate, they switched to “We want Grisham!” when he hit a home run in the sixth inning.

“I wasn’t trying to send a message to the fans by hitting a home run, but it was nice to hear that support in my next at-bat,” Grisham said after the game.

“I’ve been patient and let the process play out,” he said of his 토토사이트 순위 diminished playing time since joining the Yankees, “but sometimes you play a couple days in a row and you get spurred on.

One player who is rooting for Grisham more than anyone is Aaron Judge. “It’s not a good feeling to hear that, but I think he made a good impression by hitting a home run in the process,” said Jersey, who hit a wedge solo home run in the eighth inning. “Soto will get better and he’ll be fine. But Grisham is a very good player, too. Tonight he came through at a very important time when we needed him.”

Grisham, who went 1-for-2 with a double, three RBI, one run scored and two walks, raised his batting average from .083 to .100 (5-for-50). Three home runs, nine RBIs, four runs scored and a .538 OPS.

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