Article: This Wasn’t the Second Base Competition We Anticpated

[Alex Mayes]

Two old friends have emerged as the likely candidates to start the season at second base. 

Entering spring training, the general consensus around the Red Sox was that there would be a fierce competition for the starting job at second base. So far we’ve started to see this play out, except not with the names that we expected. Instead of Alex Bregman and Kristian Campbell battling it out, we’ve seen both David Hamilton and Vaughn Grissom take big steps forward at the position. Campbell’s early struggles in camp have seen him get some time in left field, Bregman has rotated through third base and DH, and Hamilton and Grissom have split time at second. To date, Campbell has started two games at second and three in left, Hamilton has started four games at second and four at shortstop, and Grissom has started seven games at second. All of Bregman’s starts have either come at third or DH so far this spring. This should lead us to believe that the starting second baseman will come down to either Grissom or Hamilton. Let’s take a look and see if one player holds the edge over the other so far this spring and what this means for the player who does not get the starting job.

Offensively, we’re looking at an incredibly small sample size so far. Grissom is slashing .125/.176/.125 while Hamilton is slashing .235/.350/.471, both through seven games, as of this writing. Those are…not stellar numbers, to put it mildly. As we talked about on the Talk Sox Podcast this week, both players showed up to camp in better shape with more muscle than last season, hopefully meaning both of them can stay healthy throughout an entire season. We’ve seen a bit of pop from Hamilton, and he's already hit one home run. Hamilton also takes another step forward for the job when consider his three stolen bases to Grissom’s zero. He’s walked three times to Grissom’s one, and he’s struck out twice to Grissom’s four. Once again, this is an incredibly small sample size, but the picture of the starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox is starting to come a bit more into focus.

Defensively, both Hamilton and Grissom have looked comfortable at second. Last season, the shift to second was the turning point in Hamilton’s season, when he became an impact player for the Red Sox. Keeping him at his natural position would give him the chance to succeed both offensively and defensively. Hamilton's late-season injury seemed to push him out of the minds of Red Sox fans. However he played 98 games and swiped 33 bases during that time. He posted 1.7 WAR which would rank him ninth in the AL among second basemen with at least 300 PAs. There's reason to believe that Hamilton's success in 2024 will carry over to 2025.

What does this mean for Grissom? It’s a bit of a loaded question, considering the trade that brought Grissom here, but that’s not the point of this piece. Realistically, if the Red Sox think Hamilton is their starting second baseman in 2025, then we’re likely to see some sort of platoon. Hamilton will start against right-handed pitchers and Grissom will start against left-handed pitchers. Should Hamilton prove to be able to hit both righties and lefties, though, Grissom will be relegated to either a bench spot or sent back down to triple-A Worcester. 

If the Red Sox believe Kristian Campbell is the second baseman of the future, then Grissom likely will be forced to learn a new position entirely. He came through the Atlanta system as a shortstop, but that position appears to be filled for the next few seasons by Trevor Story, with Marcelo Mayer waiting in the wings. Third base could be the most likely option if Bregman does man the hot corner and then opts out at any point during his contract, with Rafael Devers DH'ing. However, the Red Sox are dangerously thin at first base behind Triston Casa,s so don’t be shocked if you see Grissom getting reps there in Worcester during the season.

There are still a lot of roster questions to be answered during spring training, but Hamilton appears to have the edge when it comes to the starting second base job, at least for now. What that could mean for Vaughn Grissom is still up in the air, and is entirely dependent upon team needs.

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[moonslav59]

The second base position has been a total mess for 2 years, and the previous 3-4 years were not all that good, either. As bad as the position has hit, we couldn't even use an all glove-no hit guy at 2nd, and the D sucked even worse than the O.

DHam and Romy played okay from June to August, and their fWARs were actually very nice, combined, but they look better as bench pieces or as a short term solution to handle an injury or two. I do think just DHam, Romy & Grissom offer more hope than we've seen in 2 years, but that's not enough. The hope was Campbell could win the job, at some point, this year. It still is.

I really hope we don't see a lot of Bregman at 2B, despite the fact that he'd be an instant fix to a long-going problem, but we'd still have the issues at 3B, and with the Devers' should squawking, it looks like Bregman will start the year at 3B.

We roll the dice again.

[mvp 78]

I still wouldn't rule out Campbell and Bregman. I think Bregman and Campbell have both played elsewhere due to the health of Devers and Abreu. The strongest offensive lineup the Sox can put forward is with Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B and Masa at DH. It also makes the defensive lineup stronger up the middle, which is more important than moving Devers off 3b IMO. With Story back fulltime, his range to his right should offset some of Devers' issues. 

If Hamilton is part of the solution, it's only as a platoon bat. The dude just can't hit LHP. Is it worth it holding onto Grissom as a weak side platoon that can only play 2b? I'd rather him get AB's in AAA than sit on the bench after missing most of last season. 

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I still wouldn't rule out Campbell and Bregman. I think Bregman and Campbell have both played elsewhere due to the health of Devers and Abreu. The strongest offensive lineup the Sox can put forward is with Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B and Masa at DH. It also makes the defensive lineup stronger up the middle, which is more important than moving Devers off 3b IMO. With Story back fulltime, his range to his right should offset some of Devers' issues. 

If Hamilton is part of the solution, it's only as a platoon bat. The dude just can't hit LHP. Is it worth it holding onto Grissom as a weak side platoon that can only play 2b? I'd rather him get AB's in AAA than sit on the bench after missing most of last season. 

Agree 100%. 2B is more important than 3B, and this makes for less moving parts.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I can't say I'm confident management will make the right decision this season -- and that's why I see '25 more likely as a bridge year instead of the Gold Dust Triplets leading the Sox to the World Series.

If Bregman is the third baseman, and we've seen zero reason he won't be so far, expect another mix of mediocrity at the keystone sack. That may be temporary, if a guy like Mayer obliterates Triple A -- but answer this: 

If Mayer arrives in May, where does he play every day?

2B, with a better arm than Story;

SS, with Story moving to 2B;

3B, with Bregman moving to 2B.

... only one choice doesn't involve an in-season change that shifts a veteran leader from his favorite position.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Agree 100%. 2B is more important than 3B, and this makes for less moving parts.

To me, if Campbell  isn't ready, may as well throw Bregman out there in the short term and then move him back to 3b if you need to later on. We don't know if he'll be here in '26, so why move Devers off position now and not have a 3b next season (unless you believe Mayer/Story/Campbell are the solution next season)? 

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I can't say I'm confident management will make the right decision this season -- and that's why I see '25 more likely as a bridge year instead of the Gold Dust Triplets leading the Sox to the World Series.

If Bregman is the third baseman, and we've seen zero reason he won't be so far, expect another mix of mediocrity at the keystone sack. That may be temporary, if a guy like Mayer obliterates Triple A -- but answer this: 

If Mayer arrives in May, where does he play every day?

2B, with a better arm than Story;

SS, with Story moving to 2B;

3B, with Bregman moving to 2B.

... only one choice doesn't involve an in-season change that shifts a veteran leader from his favorite position.

All the moving parts and first year players are why I thought it was going to be a punt year a while ago. I really haven't changed my mind considering the state back of the bullpen and the dreaded term closer by committee that has been thrown around. I think they'll be better than last year, but this isn't a true "in contention" year. They may make the playoffs, but they aren't really going for it. 

[Hugh2]

If they decide KC isn't healthy.  I can see Bregman at 2nd and Devers at 3rd.  Devers has been better at the corner when playing along side Story, so with a healthy Story and Alex at 2nd that's still a much much improved infield.  And it gives you a chance to see what a healthy Yoshida can do. 

Also, if someone like Hamilton or Grissom really shine, you could still move Bregman to 3B and DH Devers. 

 

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

If they decide KC isn't healthy.  I can see Bregman at 2nd and Devers at 3rd.  Devers has been better at the corner when playing along side Story, so with a healthy Story and Alex at 2nd that's still a much much improved infield.  And it gives you a chance to see what a healthy Yoshida can do. 

Also, if someone like Hamilton or Grissom really shine, you could still move Bregman to 3B and DH Devers. 

 

People are talking up Vaughn Grissom as if he's earned a spot with his 301 OPS in ST. Dude missed most of last season and is still a big question mark. 

[Bellhorn04]

2 hours ago, Alex Mayes said:

 

Offensively, we’re looking at an incredibly small sample size so far. Grissom is slashing .125/.176/.125 while Hamilton is slashing .235/.350/.471, both through seven games, as of this writing. Those are…not stellar numbers, to put it mildly.

 

That's an OPS of .821 for Hamilton.   

[Bellhorn04]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

People are talking up Vaughn Grissom as if he's earned a spot with his 301 OPS in ST. Dude missed most of last season and is still a big question mark. 

His 2 hits in spring games are both singles.  His lack of EBH power seems pretty glaring. 

[mvp 78]

30 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

That's an OPS of .821 for Hamilton.   

I'm sure it's mostly off RHP. I'm fine with him being a platoon UTIL guy with Romy for now, but I don't think it's a good long term solution for 2b. 

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

His 2 hits in spring games are both singles.  His lack of EBH power seems pretty glaring. 

10 XBH in 234 PA's for WOO last season. Not ideal! You think he'd at least be getting some doubles! 

[Bellhorn04]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

10 XBH in 234 PA's for WOO last season. Not ideal! You think he'd at least be getting some doubles! 

And his last HR in an MLB game was September 7, 2022.

[Jasonbay44]

I have literally 0 expectations for Grissom. If he contributes, great. However, he’s done nothing at all to make me think he’ll make MLB roster, much less be a positive contributor. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

 The strongest offensive lineup the Sox can put forward is with Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B and Masa at DH.

Is Rafaela a better batter than Campbell or even a DHam-Romy platoon?

(2B Campbell or DHam, Romy, 3B Bregman, DH Devers, LF Yoshida/Ref, CF Duran)

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

Is Rafaela a better batter than Campbell or even a DHam-Romy platoon?

(2B Campbell or DHam, Romy, 3B Bregman, DH Devers, LF Yoshida/Ref, CF Duran)

I don't want Rafaela in the IF anymore unless he's a super UTIL guy that is just playing backup to everyone. If he's the 2b, it's a waste. He should be CF or RF.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't want Rafaela in the IF anymore unless he's a super UTIL guy that is just playing backup to everyone. If he's the 2b, it's a waste. He should be CF or RF.

That's not the point I addressed. You listed the "strongest offensive line-up." Is it?

BTW, I had Campbell and maybe others at 2B, NOT Rafela.

[Old Red]

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Is Rafaela a better batter than Campbell or even a DHam-Romy platoon?

(2B Campbell or DHam, Romy, 3B Bregman, DH Devers, LF Yoshida/Ref, CF Duran)

Campbell is not even on the team at this point, so if, and when he does, and if, and when he produces more than Raf Man then that would be a discussion to be had. Who knows RAF Man being in his 2nd full year, and hopefully playing just OF he may flourish this year.

[mvp 78]

41 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

That's not the point I addressed. You listed the "strongest offensive line-up." Is it?

BTW, I had Campbell and maybe others at 2B, NOT Rafela.

I didn't understand your point because you didn't say where Rafaela was, you just said is Rafaela better than Campbell or Romy/Hamilton platoon. To me, I wondered if you meant Rafaela was in the mix at 2b. You didn't have him listed anywhere else in your post! Where else would I assume you had him? Sometimes you make people read a little too much in between the lines with your 90k posts. 🫠

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Campbell is not even on the team at this point, so if, and when he does, and if, and when he produces more than Raf Man then that would be a discussion to be had. Who knows RAF Man being in his 2nd full year, and hopefully playing just OF he may flourish this year.

Rafaela looks good RIGHT NOW IN SPRING TRAINING and a lot of people are super excited about it (see: Lou Merloni). However, it's hard for me to extrapolate such a small sample against pitchers that are working on their stuff rather than trying to get guys out. He's also not always going against tippy top pitchers... I mean, I get that there are some good swing decisions that he's made so far, but I don't want to make too much out of it until we see it over a longer term during the regular season. It's good to be hopeful, but don't project him to cut his k rate in half and his bb rate to get to 10% or something silly. 

[Hugh2]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

People are talking up Vaughn Grissom as if he's earned a spot with his 301 OPS in ST. Dude missed most of last season and is still a big question mark. 

I'm certainly not talking him up, but I'm certainly not talking anyone down on March 6th either. 

[Hugh2]

This will be an interesting year for Grissom, I feel like he can fall into oblivion and be 100% irrelevant.  With such disappointments of trading a stud for a prospect that Jeter downs brought. 

Or, he can turn it around and turn it on with little expectations the same way Duran did.  Wide range of outcomes, but he will have to mash to prove himself because the Sox have so many options. 

[Old Red]

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Rafaela looks good RIGHT NOW IN SPRING TRAINING and a lot of people are super excited about it (see: Lou Merloni). However, it's hard for me to extrapolate such a small sample against pitchers that are working on their stuff rather than trying to get guys out. He's also not always going against tippy top pitchers... I mean, I get that there are some good swing decisions that he's made so far, but I don't want to make too much out of it until we see it over a longer term during the regular season. It's good to be hopeful, but don't project him to cut his k rate in half and his bb rate to get to 10% or something silly. 

I get all that, and I’m not even talking about the RAF Man in ST. I’m just saying that with all the hype with KC he hasn’t even made the team yet, and that with the RAF Man entering his second full year, and hopefully just playing OF this year he may improve with the bat.

[moonslav59]

54 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I didn't understand your point because you didn't say where Rafaela was, you just said is Rafaela better than Campbell or Romy/Hamilton platoon. To me, I wondered if you meant Rafaela was in the mix at 2b. You didn't have him listed anywhere else in your post! Where else would I assume you had him? Sometimes you make people read a little too much in between the lines with your 90k posts. 🫠

You listed what you felt was our strongest line-up. I assumed you had Rafaela in CF. If you did not, then my reply was off base.

If you have Rafaela in CF, I do not think that would be the strongest offensive line-up.

We could have Yoshida and Ref in LF with Duran in CF. It would be essentially replacing Rafaela in CF with whoever we play at 2B --Campbell or a DHam-Romy platoon- both choices of which I expect would be better on O than Rafaela, but (Red)  it's just projections.

Even having Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B, Yoshida at DH and a Ref in LF FT and Duran in CF FT  would be better batting than Rafaela in CF FT, IMO.

[moonslav59]

37 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I get all that, and I’m not even talking about the RAF Man in ST. I’m just saying that with all the hype with KC he hasn’t even made the team yet, and that with the RAF Man entering his second full year, and hopefully just playing OF this year he may improve with the bat.

We all know he hasn't made the team, yet. We can still have an opinion that he could hit better than .246 (Rafaela.)

If he doesn't, then we were wrong.

Based on ML experience, I also think  DHam-Romy platoon should be expected to hit better than Rafaela. That may not happen, either. I'd like nothing more than for Rafaela to hit over .750. I would not project that, right now. That's all this is. Speculation.

[Old Red]

28 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We all know he hasn't made the team, yet. We can still have an opinion that he could hit better than .246 (Rafaela.)

If he doesn't, then we were wrong.

Based on ML experience, I also think  DHam-Romy platoon should be expected to hit better than Rafaela. That may not happen, either. I'd like nothing more than for Rafaela to hit over .750. I would not project that, right now. That's all this is. Speculation.

 

28 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We all know he hasn't made the team, yet. We can still have an opinion that he could hit better than .246 (Rafaela.)

If he doesn't, then we were wrong.

Based on ML experience, I also think  DHam-Romy platoon should be expected to hit better than Rafaela. That may not happen, either. I'd like nothing more than for Rafaela to hit over .750. I would not project that, right now. That's all this is. Speculation.

KC. The Man, The Myth, and the Legend before he even appears  in his first MLB game. You’ve also already penciled in the RAF Man as a 246. Opinion, speculation, prediction, or whatever that the RAF Man can’t do better? 🙈🤭🤫

[Old Red]

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

You listed what you felt was our strongest line-up. I assumed you had Rafaela in CF. If you did not, then my reply was off base.

If you have Rafaela in CF, I do not think that would be the strongest offensive line-up.

We could have Yoshida and Ref in LF with Duran in CF. It would be essentially replacing Rafaela in CF with whoever we play at 2B --Campbell or a DHam-Romy platoon- both choices of which I expect would be better on O than Rafaela, but (Red)  it's just projections.

Even having Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B, Yoshida at DH and a Ref in LF FT and Duran in CF FT  would be better batting than Rafaela in CF FT, IMO.

Disagree 100%. Bregman 2B, Raffy 3B, GOshida DH. Ref would never be FT unless the whole OF was wiped out by injuries. Raffy could even suck as a DH.

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, Old Red said:

 

KC. The Man, The Myth, and the Legend before he even appears  in his first MLB game. You’ve also already penciled in the RAF Man as a 246. Opinion, speculation, prediction, or whatever that the RAF Man can’t do better? 🙈🤭🤫

Talking to the strawman, again, I see.

[moonslav59]

14 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Disagree 100%. Bregman 2B, Raffy 3B, GOshida DH. Ref would never be FT unless the whole OF was wiped out by injuries. Raffy could even suck as a DH.

Raffy is hurt. He will almost certainly start the season at DH.