Aaron Boone believes sticking with Trent Grisham in center is best way to go despite defensive limitation

Among 59 outfielders who had seen at least 10 opportunities in center this season, Trent Grisham ranked 59th in sprint speed. By the same metric, which measures a player’s top running speed, Spencer Jones entered play Tuesday No.39 of 521 major leaguers, an elite athlete who would be one of the faster center fielders in baseball if he were a center fielder.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

Yet Grisham was back in center for a 97th time this season, having played zero games in a corner, as the Yankees won the series opener 4-1 over the Mariners in The Bronx while Jones, who has moved all around the grass, was in right field. “Feel like that’s the best way to go,” manager Aaron Boone said of an arrangement that speaks to the club valuing Grisham’s know-how over Jones’ sheer ability at one of the most demanding positions to play. Grisham has only played center in three seasons with the Yankees after establishing himself at the position with the Padres, with whom he won Gold Gloves in 2020 and 2022. But in those days his foot speed was an asset, ranking 18th among all major leaguers in sprint speed in 2020, when he averaged 29.1 feet per second in his fastest one-second window. That number is now down to 26.6.Like a safety who can diagnose opposing offenses but lacks closing speed, Grisham’s limitation is most on display when he has to backpedal or race behind him for balls over his head, where the 29-year-old ranked dead last among center fielders according to Outs Above Average. “He’s been having trouble going back,” said outfield coach Luis Rojas, who also pointed at the hamstring injuries over the past few years that may have taken a toll.

“He knows about it.He’s working hard on it. “But you can see, he’s really good coming in.

He finishes plays coming in.… He’s got a really good athleticism as an outfielder to ben...