ANAHEIM, Calif. — Spencer Jones supplied the only jolt the Yankees could find Monday night, and the contrast around him was difficult to ignore. With New York trailing by four runs in the fifth inning at Angel Stadium, the rookie drove a Walbert Urena pitch 398 feet to center field for his eighth home run. It was the Yankees’ only run in a 10-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
Urena allowed one run over seven innings, struck out eight and earned the win as the Angels snapped a seven-game losing streak. Yankees rookie Elmer Rodriguez took the loss after allowing four runs in 3 2/3 innings. No save was awarded. The Yankees finished with six hits, while Jones went 1-for-3 and Trent Grisham went 0-for-4.
The result did little to slow a larger outfield question that has been building for the Yankees. Jones has continued to get starts against right-handed pitching even after Cody Bellinger returned from the injured list. In 28 games during August, Jones batted .239 with four home runs, five doubles, 17 runs, 13 RBIs and five stolen bases. His latest homer pushed his season line to .238 with eight homers, 25 RBIs, eight steals and a .739 OPS in 181 at-bats.
Grisham has moved in the opposite direction. The veteran center fielder is 2-for-36 over his last nine games and is batting .209 with a .307 on-base percentage, .397 slugging percentage and .704 OPS. He has 18 home runs and 57 RBIs in 411 at-bats, but the Yankees can no longer point to defense as an automatic separator. Statcast lists Grisham at minus-6 Outs Above Average, while Baseball Reference has him at minus-8 Defensive Runs Saved in center field.
The timing makes the comparison more than an August slump story. Aaron Judge could return during the Yankees’ next homestand, beginning Sept. 8 against Colorado. With Bellinger in left, the Yankees will have to decide how much of center field belongs to Grisham and how much they are willing to hand to Jones in a postseason race.
Sherman says center field is no longer settled
That decision moved into sharper focus when Joel Sherman examined the competition on his Pinstripe Post podcast. Sherman criticized Grisham’s recent defensive play and effort, then argued that Jones has done enough to force the Yankees to reconsider the position rather than simply default to the veteran.
“It hasn’t been good. And hasn’t been good. It’s been unacceptable. It’s been unacceptable,” Sherman said.
Sherman’s point was not that Jones has become a finished product. It was that the rookie is increasingly offering the same patient, extended at-bats the Yankees value from Grisham while adding more athleticism and speed. That combination has turned what once looked like a depth-chart formality into a legitimate competition.
“Spencer Jones is kind of making us think twice about the center field position,” Sherman said.
Sherman went a step further when discussing roster choices. If every Yankees outfielder could simply be optioned, he said Jones would not be the player he would remove from the roster.
“If everyone had options, he would not be the one that you would send down,” Sherman said.
Jones is closing gap in more than one category
The current numbers give the Yankees a more complicated comparison than the reputations suggest. Jones has nearly matched Grisham’s home-run frequency despite entering September with 230 fewer at-bats. Jones has homered once every 22.6 at-bats. Grisham has homered once every 22.8.
Jones also has eight stolen bases in 181 at-bats, one fewer than Grisham has accumulated in 411. His .739 OPS is 35 points higher. On defense, Statcast has Jones at minus-1 Outs Above Average across his outfield work, compared with Grisham’s minus-6 mark in center.
The Yankees still have reasons for caution. Jones swings and misses at a high rate, and Aaron Boone has acknowledged that strikeouts will remain part of his game. But his plate appearances have improved with more major league exposure.
The 2027 money makes the decision larger
The center-field debate also reaches beyond October. Grisham is playing on the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer he accepted last November. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the season. Jones, meanwhile, is a rookie who has now shown enough to make an everyday outfield role in 2027 a realistic internal option.
That does not make a Grisham exit official. The Yankees have announced no decision about his future, and his 18 home runs, walks and experience remain useful for a 78-60 club leading the AL wild-card race.
But the roster math has changed. Paying Grisham to return would be a different calculation if the Yankees believe Jones can handle center field for a fraction of the cost. Sherman described Jones’ recent play as a ‘calling card’ for 2027 and said it is no longer outlandish to view him as a potentially above-average starting outfielder.
Judge’s return could force Yankees to choose
The immediate decision may arrive before the offseason. Judge’s return would compress an outfield that includes Bellinger, Jones, Grisham and Heliot Ramos. Boone previously discussed Jones and Ramos as a right-field platoon while Judge was out, with Grisham in center.
Jones’ August surge and Grisham’s slump have altered that equation. The Yankees do not need to remove Grisham from the roster to give Jones a larger role, but the case for treating Grisham as the unquestioned everyday center fielder has weakened at the same time Jones has made himself harder to sit.
Monday’s loss offered the cleanest visual yet. The Yankees produced one run, and Jones hit it over the center-field wall. With Judge moving closer and October approaching, the next question is whether the rookie’s rise also pushes Grisham out of center field now and, eventually, out of the Bronx after the season.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
