The Red Sox have some tough decisions coming up...
Feb 17, 2025; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox Vaughn Grissom (5) getting ready to bat during spring training at Jet Blue Park at Fenway South. Photo Credit: Chris Tilley-Imagn Images / Chris Tilley-Imagn Images
The battle for the last couple roster spots on any Major League Baseball team is typically intense, and for the Boston Red Sox in 2025, there are almost too many candidates to track.
Second base has been the most up-in-the-air position for Boston all spring. Assuming Alex Bregman takes over third base with Rafael Devers lagging behind in his preparations for the season, the starting job at the keystone is open to a swath of contenders.
Top prospect Kristian Campbell hasn't seized the job in camp like the Red Sox hoped he would. David Hamilton and Vaughn Grissom are the other top contenders, with utility infield options Nick Sogard and Romy González also lingering as depth pieces.
Grissom, who the Red Sox acquired in the infamous Chris Sale trade with the Atlanta Braves last winter, had a brutal first season in Boston, marked by injury, struggles, and time spent in Triple-A. This was shaping up to be a make-or-break year for him in a Red Sox uniform... but will he even get the chance to play at the big-league level?
Amid that uncertainty regarding Grissom's future, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently named the 24-year-old second baseman as one of the top 10 "change of scenery trade candidates" across MLB as spring training quickly draws to a close.
"There is a good chance Vaughn Grissom will never be able to escape his legacy in Boston being the guy the Red Sox got back when they traded 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves in one of the most ill-advised moves in recent memory," Reuter wrote.
"That said, he is still only 24 years old, and the tools that made him a consensus Top 100 prospect and a breakout star for the Braves when he first arrived in the big leagues in 2022 are still there."
Last season, Grissom batted .190/.246/.219 without a home run in 31 major league games. He was better, but not special, in Triple-A, slashing .259/.385/.373 with six homers in 55 games.
If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that the Red Sox have to ignore the Sale piece of all this. Looking back, there's no guarantee the lefty would have stayed healthy and been a Cy Young contender last year if he'd stayed in Boston, and at any rate, the Red Sox should only be looking forward.
Is there any trade value left for Grissom right now? That's what the Red Sox will have to ponder, because sending him back to the minors will effectively kill the rest of it.
