Article: Vaughn Grissom Needs a Change of Scenery Already

[Alex Mayes]

Living up to the hype of being traded for a future Cy Young winner has likely placed a ton of pressure on Vaughn Grissom. Maybe he already needs a change of scenery to get back to being the player he wants to be. 

Bleacher Report recently listed Vaughn Grissom as a prime candidate for a change of scenery. Honestly, they probably aren’t wrong. Grissom hasn’t lived up to the hopes the Red Sox front office put in him with they traded Chris Sale for him before the 2024 season. Grissom has looked overmatched at points, he’s struggled to stay healthy, and so far this spring he’s hitting a putrid .188. I wrote earlier about a potential budding competition for second base between Grissom and David Hamilton but since then, the Red Sox have featured Kristian Campbell almost exclusively at second, so it appears as if the competition is actually between Hamilton and Campbell. Where does this leave Grissom now, and how likely is it for a change of scenery during the 2025 season?

Both of those are fairly loaded questions, and the likely answer leaves the front office looking a bit foolish. I’m not questioning the Chris Sale trade. I firmly believe had he stayed in Boston that we wouldn’t have gotten the same season the Atlanta Braves did out of him. That being said, trading him for Grissom is major misstep Craig Breslow and company. In their defense, they likely had no idea Campbell would burst onto the scene in such a dramatic way in 2024, but trading someone like Sale for a quad-A player who will likely only see time in Boston during the 2025 season if several people get injured is the biggest black eye for Breslow so far.

As for a change of scenery, I suppose it’s possible but it’s going to take Breslow admitting he made a mistake with the original trade and selling Grissom for pennies on the dollar as part of a larger trade package. You’re not going to get any team to trade for Grissom as he currently stands. If he shows out in Worcester to begin the season, his value increases some, but other teams are going to be well aware of his shortcomings. Grissom appeared for a time to be the heir apparent to Dansby Swanson in Atlanta, so the Red Sox are now the second team to decide against him. You could see a team that's out of contention and looking to rebuild take a chance on him but a lot of those programs already have young shortstops and second basemen that profile to be more impactful than Grissom has been.

Unfortunately for Grissom, the Red Sox are much stronger up the middle on defense than they have been in previous years, and he’s failed to live up to the expectations of the trade that brought him to Boston. The early returns during spring training have been less than ideal. In the span of a year, Grissom has gone from being traded for the future Cy Young winner to an afterthought on a team focusing on a youth movement. He still has time to turn it around, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that his next opportunity will come somewhere other than Boston.

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[Bellhorn04]

34 minutes ago, Alex Mayes said:

I’m not questioning the Chris Sale trade. I firmly believe had he stayed in Boston that we wouldn’t have gotten the same season the Atlanta Braves did out of him.

 

But why would that be?   

[Old Red]

6 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

But why would that be?   

The Bad Injury JuJu.

[Bellhorn04]

21 minutes ago, Old Red said:

The Bad Injury JuJu.

Unfortunately that Juju is now everywhere that baseball pitchers are found.

[Old Red]

9 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Unfortunately that Juju is now everywhere that baseball pitchers are found.

True, but Story got it when he came to Boston, and Gio did too.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Juju left his home in Tucson, Arizona

Boston, Massachusetts grass

[moonslav59]

15 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Juju was a man who thought he was a starter

But he knew it couldn't last

Juju left his home in Tucson, Arizona

Boston, Massachusetts grass

I fixed it for you.

[moonslav59]

54 minutes ago, Old Red said:

True, but Story got it when he came to Boston, and Gio did too.

True, but....

Story was damaged goods, when we got him. Some felt Gio was, too.

O'Neal had his second highest career PA total in his only year with Boston.

Justin Turner had a career high PA total with BOS (16 yrs in MLB.)

Pivetta had 4 of his top 5 IP seasons with BOS.

Maybe we tend to remember the bad more than the good, but it does seem like the injury bug strikes Sox players more than other teams, except maybe the Yanks, but they seem to seek older and injury prone players more than we do.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

True, but Story got it when he came to Boston, and Gio did too.

Story was injured before he got here. 

[Old Red]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

True, but....

Story was damaged goods, when we got him. Some felt Gio was, too.

O'Neal had his second highest career PA total in his only year with Boston.

Justin Turner had a career high PA total with BOS (16 yrs in MLB.)

Pivetta had 4 of his top 5 IP seasons with BOS.

Maybe we tend to remember the bad more than the good, but it does seem like the injury bug strikes Sox players more than other teams, except maybe the Yanks, but they seem to seek older and injury prone players more than we do.

Story was damaged goods, but has had other injuries outside of what was damaged just like Sale.

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Story was injured before he got here. 

Has all his injuries in Boston been what was damaged before he got there?

[mvp 78]

Just now, Old Red said:

Has all his injuries in Boston been what was damaged before he got there?

No, just the TJS nonsense, which is the majority of the problem he's had. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Story was damaged goods, but has had other injuries outside of what was damaged just like Sale.

Sale was not damaged goods, when we got him. He led the league in IP year one, but yes, he got injured, often afterwards.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Panda damaged the goods they gave him: belt buckles, pants buttons, fan expectations.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Panda damaged the goods they gave him: belt buckles, pants buttons, fan expectations.

It was all down hill AFTER 2015 where hit 75 OPS+, -8 DRS and -0.5 bWAR/-1.2 fWAR. That was the best we got out of him. 🐼

[notin]

3 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

But why would that be?   

Atlanta seemed to be miracle workers last year.  It’s pretty unusual to see a veteran pitcher finish a single season with more WAR than he had in the previous 5 seasons combined.  Sale wasn’t even the only pitcher on the Braves to accomplish that last season…

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

It was all down hill AFTER 2015 where hit 75 OPS+, -8 DRS and -0.5 bWAR/-1.2 fWAR. That was the best we got out of him. 🐼

What made it worse was that after his -1.4 fWAR in 2 seasons with BOS, he posted a +0.4 fWAR over the next 3 seasons, combined, including +1.3 from '18-'19, when back with SF..

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

What made it worse was that after his -1.4 fWAR in 2 seasons with BOS, he posted a +0.4 fWAR over the next 3 seasons, combined, including +1.3 from '18-'19, when back with SF..

That didn’t bother me.

[Larry Cook]

Why not start Grissom in Worcester and see if he can rebuild his value!! 
 

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Why not start Grissom in Worcester and see if he can rebuild his value!! 
 

He didn't hit there last season. No harm in him going there this year and succeeding. 

[Malcolm White]

Reluctant to give up on a guy who:

- had OPS of .882, .899 and .920 in the minors before getting sick last Spring;

- hit .338/.467/.507 once he got his weight/strength back in Sept.

- even with this miserable swing, has as many BBs as Ks.

Doesn't matter that he cost them Sale, or that Sale pitched great last year. You don't give up on guys that have consistently raked in the minors. Let's see him do it again and create a roster problem.  He needs health, not new scenery.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Malcolm White said:

Reluctant to give up on a guy who:

- had OPS of .882, .899 and .920 in the minors before getting sick last Spring;

- hit .338/.467/.507 once he got his weight/strength back in Sept.

- even with this miserable swing, has as many BBs as Ks.

Doesn't matter that he cost them Sale, or that Sale pitched great last year. You don't give up on guys that have consistently raked in the minors. Let's see him do it again and create a roster problem.  He needs health, not new scenery.

He deserves another season to show what he's got. I wouldn't dump him in a trade just because.

[Bellhorn04]

18 hours ago, notin said:

Atlanta seemed to be miracle workers last year.  It’s pretty unusual to see a veteran pitcher finish a single season with more WAR than he had in the previous 5 seasons combined.  Sale wasn’t even the only pitcher on the Braves to accomplish that last season…

So like Red says, it was JuJu...

[moonslav59]

15 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

That didn’t bother me.

It would have been nicer if he had done that for us, but hardly a difference maker.

[vegasbob]

What do  Devers, Bregman, Casas, Story, Hamilton, Gonzalez, Campbell, Mayer, Grissom, Sogard  and Rafaela (occasionally ) have in common ?

Answer,  all 11  can play or will play infield at a MLB level currently or in the near future.  That's enough players to staff the Red Sox and WooSox simultaneously , as well as the bench .  Maybe Campbell goes to LF, and Rafaela stays in CF  to thin the depth.  

Otherwise , Breslow has a lot of assets to fill other needs like  a #1 catcher or BP  setup /closer .

[moonslav59]

36 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

What do  Devers, Bregman, Casas, Story, Hamilton, Gonzalez, Campbell, Mayer, Grissom, Sogard  and Rafaela (occasionally ) have in common ?

And what do Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Anthony, Refsnyder, Campbell, Yoshida and DHam/Romy (occaisonally) have in common?

That's enough OF'ers for 2-3 teams.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

59 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Otherwise , Breslow has a lot of assets to fill other needs like  a #1 catcher or BP  setup /closer .

Not acquiring a premium closer this offseason is why I can't take this team seriously  in the goal of going-for-it... and why I'm still stuck in the 80s for wins, even 89. Maybe a Schiraldi or Koji will emerge, because that's happened, what - twice in 40 years?

No one wants to trade a star closer in his prime, and if they do, it's because they're about to get too expensive (or TJS).

If you can swap for a legit closer, the cost is going to be steep (or in Brezspeak, "painful"). Kimbrel cost four prospects a decade ago,

Edwin Diaz was just 24 when he went to the Mets (with Cano's bloated contract) for five prospects, including Kelenic, rated 4th overall on the MLB list.

It's hard to believe Diaz just turned 30... Even Chapman, who always wears out his welcome, cost young stars lie Gleybar Torres or Cole Ragans.

So if the Sox really want a good closer, be prepared to lose one of the Big Three. 

[moonslav59]

19 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Not acquiring a premium closer this offseason is why I can't take this team seriously  in the goal of going-for-it... and why I'm still stuck in the 80s for wins, even 89. Maybe a Schiraldi or Koji will emerge, because that's happened, what - twice in 40 years?

No one wants to trade a star closer in his prime, and if they do, it's because they're about to get too expensive (or TJS).

If you can swap for a legit closer, the cost is going to be steep (or in Brezspeak, "painful"). Kimbrel cost four prospects a decade ago,

Edwin Diaz was just 24 when he went to the Mets (with Cano's bloated contract) for five prospects, including Kelenic, rated 4th overall on the MLB list.

It's hard to believe Diaz just turned 30... Even Chapman, who always wears out his welcome, cost young stars lie Gleybar Torres or Cole Ragans.

So if the Sox really want a good closer, be prepared to lose one of the Big Three. 

I think Arias and Abreu could get a really good  closer.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I think Arias and Abreu could get a really good  closer.

I'd consider holding off on trading Arias for now. He's apparently made some gains this offseason. Let's see what he can do this year. If Breslow wanted a good closer, he could have signed one in FA.

[drewski6]

20 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

That didn’t bother me.

Me neither.  If I was to rank former red sox infielders who had a serviceable (but not good) season with the Giants later in their careers:

Panda's +1.3 WAR in 18-19  would actually be below Freddy Sanchez's +1.9 WAR in 2010 in the "one who got away" scale.

I always found Freddy likeable.