How Vaughn Grissom Can Help Red Sox Mitigate Disastrous Sale Trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Red Sox have written off Year 1 of the Chris Sale trade around April. But it may not be a total loss in the long run, as Vaughn Grissom illustrated on Tuesday.
The player the Red Sox expected to become their everyday second baseman in 2024 had a miserable season. A hamstring injury canceled spring training, an illness delayed his rehab, and then another hamstring strain dealt him the final blow. He was content to muddle through in Triple-A for months, and When he hit a ball hard, it was literally a new.
Needless to say, this isn’t the player the Red Sox thought they were getting when they traded a seven-time All-Star who is now the overwhelming favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award and the pitching Triple Crown with the Braves. Add to that the emergence of prospect Kristian Campbell as a Consensus Minor League Player of the Yearand Grissom suddenly finds himself with an unstable position in the organizational chart.
That’s why this final week of the season is so important. Grissom received a surprise promotion Friday after outfielder Rob Refsnyder went on injured reserve, and he seems determined to make the most of it.
On Tuesday, he had his first multi-hit game as a Red Sox player, going 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays that helped the Red Sox avoid playoff elimination for another day. He hit three missiles, including a double over the top of the left-field fence that was nearly his first home run of the season, and a walk-off single in the 10th inning that opened the game.
When Grissom reflects on this season, the numbers won’t be pretty. He’s hitting .172 with a .421 OPS and negative WAR. But he still believes he learned a valuable lesson about himself and how to overcome failure that will pay dividends next year.
“I finally got to see the other side” Grissom told the Boston Globe“I didn’t face a lot of adversity growing up or coming through the system, at least with Atlanta. There was never a time where I felt down because of the struggles.
“I think that little adrenaline rush this year was the best thing that could have happened to me because I now understand what it’s like to fail and how to get out of a hole. Understanding that is, I think, the best thing that could have happened to me because I know how to get out of a hole. I think it’s a great thing for my career.”
The Red Sox can only hope he’s right.
At just 23 years old, Grissom is actually the youngest player to take the field for Boston this year, born three months after all-around powerhouse Ceddanne Rafaela. Considering he entered the season with a .320 lifetime average in the minor leagues, and looked like another future home run from Atlanta’s vaunted player development system when he debuted in 2022 with a home run at Fenway Park and a .792 OPS, it’s too early to write him off as a lost cause.
An encouraging end to the season, even if it’s just a few games, could help him prepare for the offseason. And even if the Red Sox never pull off the Sale trade, maybe one day it won’t be such a bloodbath.
“I’m very confident,” Grissom told the Globe when asked about his outlook for 2025. “I’m also very excited. I love this game and I’m going to give it my all until it all falls apart.”
