Forecasting the 2026 New York Yankees outfield can be viewed as a bit of a perplexing question, especially when it comes to the free agency of Cody Bellinger. However, that question became a bit clearer after centerfielder Trent Grisham accepted the Yankees one-year, 22 million qualifying offer on Tuesday November 18th.
Grisham, who was a part of the Juan Soto trade between the Yankees and Padres in the 2023-24 offseason, had a breakout year in 2025 in which he played in 143 games and posted an .811 OPS with 34 home runs and a 3.5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), all career bests, as the Yankees’ everyday center fielder.
This was somewhat of an unforeseen increase in production considering Grisham during his first year in pinstripes (2024) hit for a lowly .190 batting average and an underwhelming .675 OPS in 76 games due to shared playing time with another acquired outfielder, Alex Verdugo.
Brian Cashman Comments on Trent Grisham’s Impact in the Outfield & Cody Bellinger’s Free Agency Pursuit
Going into the rationale of the Yankees offering Grisham the qualifying offer and his acceptance, Yankees GM Brian Cashman stated that the organization sees Grisham as the “third best outfielder in the marketplace” behind free agents Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger.
Cashman also reiterated at the Covenant House Sleep Out event on Thursday, November 20th that despite retaining Trent Grisham, they would still “love to bring Bellinger back” and that he’s spoken to “Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras as well as Casey Close, the agent for free agent outfielders Kyle Tucker and Kyle Schwarber,” according to Cashman.
Who Are the 2026 Left Fielder Candidates?
The one question looming despite all of this is what happens in left field, whether Bellinger does or doesn’t return? Cashman painted a better picture in which he stated that the Grisham signing, “gives us a little more comfort going in. Now we have Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones competing for left field, and we have Grisham, and we have Judge,” says Cashman.
With it being clear as of now that Dominguez and Jones are competing for left field, the question remains: what happens if Bellinger is re-signed? Cody Bellinger has had a tremendous year as a Yankee, one of the best of his career, in which he provided offensive and defensive value, as well as versatility across all three outfield positions and first base when needed.
He posted a 5.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) with an .813 OPS and nearly 30 home runs in 152 games, while playing well above average defense and hitting for contact. Bellinger is projected to land a seven-year $182 million dollar deal in free agency, according to the Athletic’s Tim Britton.
However, the Yankees could have slight hesitation when you look at Cody Bellinger’s entire career. Looking at his background with the Dodgers and then the Cubs, he’s had spectacular seasons (2017, 2019, 2023, 2025) and abysmal seasons (2020, 2021, 2022), and most recently an alright season in 2024.
Considering the Yankees acquired him for reliever Cody Poteet from the Chicago Cubs last offseason, who has since been DFA’d by Chicago, makes the deal looking back for the Yankees a complete steal in 2025, but for the next few years, that remains to be seen. If he’s re-signed, then the outfield for next year basically remains the same as 2025 with the core of (Judge, Grisham, Bellinger).
If Cody Bellinger isn’t re-signed, the obvious candidates to play left field next year are either Spencer Jones (the Yankees’ No.4 ranked prospect) or 22-year-old Dominican outfielder nicknamed “The Martian,” Jasson Dominguez. Both come with their pros and cons.
Jones is primarily known for his plus athletic ability as a center fielder, reaching Triple A last year, as well as off-the-charts power, standing at an imposing 6’7 240 lbs. Jones (24), crushed 35 home runs in the minors last season between Double A and Triple A, but there are concerns about the swing and miss in his game, as he struck out 179 times in 116 games between Double A and Triple A assignments.
Jasson Domínguez is two years younger than Jones and is known as a player who could be an above-average to near-star-level talent in this league. The only problem is the outfield defense.
After recovering from Tommy John surgery the year previous, Dominguez has not been able to show he can be a successful long term contributor to a big league outfield when it comes to defense, and has resulted in Dominguez in playing Winter Ball for the Leones del Escogido in hopes of improving his outfield defense (particularly in left field), where the Yankees have started him at mainly.
Both Dominguez and Jones could be trade candidates if Bellinger is re-signed, or one starts in the minors and the other gets gameday reps in left field next season if Bellinger walks.
Either way, it’s a question the Yankees need to navigate and address, whether that’s through free agency or trade, while also proactively asking themselves: do they believe in either Jones or Dominguez for their long-term outfield plans? Much of that will depend on whether Cody Bellinger himself decides to join the Yankees’ future outfield.
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