Vaughn

Grissom

Grissom is now hitting .274/.350/.432 on the season in Triple-A with eight home runs, eight steals, 32 RBI, and 53 runs scored in 76 games. He hit .279 in June and has now started July by going 7-for-18 with one home run, three RBI, and a 4/2 K/BB ratio. He can play second base and first base, and may be a better use of an infield spot for the Red Sox right now than David Hamilton.

With Triston Casas out for the season following a ruptured patellar tendon, the Red Sox are searching for answers at first base. With Rafael Devers seemingly unwilling to move to the position as of now, Grissom could be another option. He has played only five games at first base this year, so it may take time before the Red Sox feel confident that he can play there at the MLB level, but he’s slashing .276/.354/.422 with three home runs in 30 games at Triple-A this season.

Grissom has been tremendous this season, slashing .342/.400/.575 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 18 games at Triple-A. He has traded some contact for power and is striking out more than he has before in his minor league career, but the numbers have been great, and the added muscle he put on this off-season means that the power gains could be real. At just 24 years old, perhaps we wrote the obituary on Grissom’s MLB career far too soon after an injury-plagued 2024 season.

Grissom has been on fire at the plate for Worcester of late and is now hitting .340/.400/.520 in 13 games with two home runs, nine RBI, 13 runs scored, and one steal. He’s just 24 years old and was a highly-regarded prospect in the Braves’ system before getting hurt last year, so it’s not out of the question that Grissom could still be an above-average MLB regular. There’s just no clear place for him in Boston right now.

Grissom has become a forgotten man in Boston after being traded for Chris Sale before last season. Injuries derailed Grissom’s 2024 season, but he’s off to a solid start in Triple-A, going 13-for-44 (.295) with two home runs, 12 runs scored, and one steal. He is probably stuck as a second baseman only, which means Kristian Campbell is blocking his path to the big leagues. It would be nice for Boston to see Grissom, who is just 24 years old, force his way onto a big league roster with a big season at AAA. But he may be auditioning for a chance elsewhere.

The move comes as zero surprise since Grissom has batted .176 (6-for-34) with zero homers this spring in 13 Grapefruit League contests. He’s been surpassed by top prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer in Boston’s second base competition and the Red Sox clearly prefer speedster David Hamilton to him in a versatile utility role.

Cora added that Campbell, who went 1-for-3 with a double and also made a handful of strong defensive plays at the keystone on Tuesday against the Orioles, will start at second base again on Tuesday against the Rays. The 22-year-old top prospect’s speed potential will make him an immediate impact fantasy contributor, even as he acclimates to everyday life in the majors. His spot on Boston’s season-opening roster would push David Hamilton to a utility role and send Vaughn Grissom back to Triple-A Worcester. It’s a developing situation fantasy managers should closely monitor over the next week in the lead up to Opening Day.

No luck for Grissom today. He had a 365-foot flyout that would have been a homer in 10 MLB ballparks, according to Statcast, and also a 103-mph lineout with a .560 xBA. Grissom is pretty clearly behind David Hamilton for the main gig at second base in Boston, and if Hamilton is overtaken at some point, there’s a good chance it’ll be by top prospect Kristian Campbell.

Specifically, Devers said he would be “OK” if he was starting at designated hitter on Opening Day. There had been some hand-wringing about Devers not wanting to move off of third base with Alex Bregman in town, but it was always expected that Devers would do what the team wanted him to do. We should expect to see Devers at DH a lot this season, which should also help his throwing shoulder to stay healthy, while Bregman mans third base and leaves second base for David Hamilton, Vaughn Grissom, and Kristian Campbell. In other news, Devers hit a mammoth home run off of Walker Buehler in live batting practice Thursday as well.

Alex Bregman’s arrival complicates the Red Sox’ infield picture to an exponential degree, but early indications are that Campbell and Vaughn Grissom will have a chance to prove they belong in the majors at second base. Caron added that the variable to watch over the next few weeks is whether Rafael Devers is back playing third base roughly midway through spring training. If not, that increases the likelihood that Bregman winds up at third base and Devers shifts to DH with Campbell or Grissom at the keystone. It’s one of the most compelling spring training storylines for fantasy managers to monitor, especially since Campbell’s stolen base upside figures to make him an immediate impact contributor.