You want Soto? Well, you’ve got Grisham.

Jun 6, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) scores after hitting a solo home run during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees traded for Juan Soto this past offseason expecting him to help make them legitimate World Series contenders and so far, it’s safe to say it has worked out. Soto has performed like the MVP-caliber player he has always been, and the Yankees entered Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with the best record in the American League.

As good as Soto has been, Yankees fans entered this game frustrated as their team lost each of the first two games of the series against the Dodgers. There isn’t shame when losing to a team as good as the Dodgers, but the Yankees desperately missed Soto. The team scored just four runs in the first two games and nobody, and I mean nobody, outside of Aaron Judge was doing anything. Just look at these numbers.

To make matters worse, New York’s starting lineup against Tyler Glasnow, one of the best pitchers in the National League, featured Trent Grisham, the other player that the Yankees acquired in the Soto deal hitting fifth. Grisham entered the day hitting .083 with an OPS+ of 25. There are no typos there. He had been that bad offensively, yet he was hitting fifth. It felt like a classic Aaron Boone moment.

The Yankees found themselves trailing 3-2 after yet another Teoscar Hernandez home run. A sweep felt inevitable with Glasnow pitching well and a solid Dodgers bullpen looming. Yankees fans expressed their frustration by letting the world know just how much they want to see their beloved outfielder while Grisham was at-bat.

Trent Grisham quiets frustrated fans with his signature Yankees moment

This wasn’t just one or two fans chanting that they want Soto. This was most of what appears to be a sell-out crowd in the Bronx chanting at Soto’s replacement how much they want to see someone else in the lineup. The chants were loud.

Instead of letting those chants get into his head, Grisham made sure to quiet them down just two pitches later by launching a no-doubter well over the right-field wall. He had hit a three-run homer to turn what was a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 Yankees lead.

That certainly made Yankees fans change their tune.

Grisham is not the player Soto is and has not had the best start to his Yankees career, but he can be a solid fourth outfielder. He’s a terrific defender and, as Yankees fans just found out, he’s got some serious pop too. It’s Grisham’s second home run in his 14 June plate appearances as he has filled in admirably for the injured outfielder.

Everyone wants Soto in the lineup, but Yankees fans, at least for one night, have to be happy to see Grisham come through in that big moment.