Gwynn Jr. weighs in on how Soto, Grisham will adjust to NY

NEW YORK -- The Yankees made a big splash last month when they acquired outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham from the Padres for five players, including right-hander Michael King and catcher Kyle Higashioka.

Soto is expected to improve a Yankees offense that finished 29th in batting average (.227) and 25th in runs scored (673), while Grisham is expected to improve the outfield defense. Grisham won two Gold Gloves with San Diego.

Tony Gwynn Jr. -- an eight-year Major Leaguer (2006-14), one of the Padres’ radio broadcasters and the son of the Baseball Hall of Famer with the same name -- saw both Soto and Grisham up close. Gwynn believes Soto will have thick enough skin to thrive in the Big Apple. Soto will not only take advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium, but, Gwynn added, he will use the entire field to hit home runs and drive in runs. To prove Gwynn’s point, 13 of his of Soto’s 35 home runs in 2023 were hit to left or left-center field, according to Baseball Savant.

Soto is coming off a season in which he led the Padres in home runs and RBIs (109) and the Major Leagues with 132 walks. During the second half of the 2023 season, Soto had a slash line of .286/.399/.568.

“I think highly of Soto,” Gwynn said. “When you get a chance to watch him play on an everyday basis, you get to see his approach at the plate. I don’t care if the score is 12-1 or 0-0, he is not giving anything away.

“Soto might be one of the few hitters that I’ve seen that … is not going to chase. His timing might be off, but he hits the ball well all the time. … He really turned it on during the second half of the [2023] season, and I fully expect him to blossom in New York. When he is at his best, he will drive the ball to the opposite field.”

As for Grisham, no one will question his defensive skills in the outfield. But Gwynn believes that Grisham needs to hear a new voice when it comes to his skills in the batter’s box. That voice will be hitting coach James Rowson, who helped Aaron Judge develop as a hitter in the Yankees’ Minor League system.

Over the last two years, for example, Grisham hit a combined .191 with 30 home runs. However, he showed signs of life with the bat during the 2022 postseason. In the National League Wild Card Series against the Mets, Grisham was 4-for-8 with two homers, while going 4-for-13 with a home run against the Dodgers in the NL Division Series.

As of now, Grisham is expected to come off the bench and play defense in the late innings.

“Maybe somebody on the Yankees will say something that will click,” Gwynn said. “He has the ability offensively. It’s not as though he can’t play offensively. [But] he has long streaks of not hitting. But when he is on, as we saw in the Wild Card Series and the National League Division Series, … he is a very productive offensive player. But he hasn’t been able to do it consistently. Defensively, you are not going to find anyone better.”

Asked if Grisham will do well in New York, Gwynn said, “I can’t honestly say he will do as well. I think he is bothered by critique sometimes. New York is every man for himself in terms of [criticism]. It will be interesting to see how well he does with it. I won’t say he won’t be able to do it, but I’ll be watching for sure. I don’t think it’s the same situation as Juan.”