Padres roster review: Trent Grisham

Sizing up the Padres’ 40-man roster heading into the 2022 season: Trent Grisham slumped badly after returning from his second stint in the injured list

By Jeff Sanders

Jan. 25, 2022 5 AM PT

TRENT GRISHAM

Position(s): Outfielder
2022 opening day age: 25
Bats / Throws: Left / Left
Height / Weight: 5-foot-11 / 219 pounds
How acquired: Via trade with Milwaukee Brewers in November 2019
Contract status: Earned $589,200 in 2021; will not be arbitration-eligible until 2023
Key 2021 stats: .242 avg., .327 OBP, .413 SLG, 15 HRs, 62 RBIs, 61 runs, 13 steals, 54 walks, 119 strikeouts (132 games, 527 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

5.9 — Grisham’s barrel rate in 2021, a 5.9-point drop-off from his 2020 rate, when he hit .251/.352/.456 across the COVID-19-shortened season. Grisham’s hard-hit rate (36.8) was also down five points as was his production against fastballs across the board. Grisham hit .218 and slugged .361 against heaters in 2021, down from .286 and .571, respectively, in 2020.

Down — Two years removed the deal that sent him from Milwaukee to San Diego, Grisham is a prime example of how the valuation of a trade can shift dramatically from year to year. In 2020, the Padres were clear winners as Grisham finished his sophomore season as a Gold Glove center fielder with an .808 OPS and Zach Davies won seven games for the Padres with a 2.73 ERA, while INF Luis Urias (.602 OPS) and LHP Eric Lauer (13.09 ERA)) both struggled in their first years as Brewers. But Urias (.789 OPS) and Lauer (3.19 ERA) both rebounded in 2021 as Grisham took a step back, due at least in part to two stints on the injured list (seven games in April with a left hamstring strain and another 18 games in May-June with a left foot contusion). The latter injury was especially disruptive as Grisham hit .302/.383/.515 after returning from his first stint on the shelf — he even homered in three of his first four games — and .218/.304/.371 over the final 96 games of the season. Grisham still managed to raise his OPS against lefties from .750 in 2020 to .824 last year, but the inconsistency at the plate left the Padres moving their preferred leadoff hitter up and down the lineup for much of the second half. In the field, Grisham was not among the NL finalists in center (Harrison Bader beat out Bryan Reynolds and Jackie Bradley Jr.), but still ranked seventh among all center fielders with eight defensive runs saved after ranking third in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season with seven.

2022 OUTLOOK

Grisham began 2021 as the answer to longstanding questions atop the order and in center field. While he certainly lost momentum in 2021, a healthy Grisham should continue to be someone to lean on in both roles, so long as he and new hitting coach Mike Brdar can get him back on plan against fastballs (see stat to note).