Where Red Sox Envision Vaughn Grissom Fitting Into 2024 Roster

The Boston Red Sox upgraded their infield by acquiring prospect Vaughn Grissom from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for pitcher Chris Sale.

Having just 64 games of big league experience under his belt through two seasons with the Braves plus an impressive minor league career, Grissom falls into a much more favorable position with Boston. The Red Sox don’t have a set-in-stone starting infield yet, and having experience at both second base and shortstop, Grissom, 22, helps that cause.

Just three years ago, Grissom was ranked the No. 22 prospect in all of Major League Baseball and first-year Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has already thought about how Boston will utilize the youngster in 2024.

“Dynamic athlete who can play all over the field, offers versatility,” Breslow told reporters after the trade on Saturday, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “… (Grissom) is most likely to settle in at second base. Really strong right-handed bat, elite performer in the minor leagues and has six years of control.”

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Grissom was selected in the 11th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, however, Atlanta’s currently overcrowded infield made it difficult to find a place for him. The Braves elected to keep Grissom at Triple-A, where he slashed .330/.419/.501 with eight home runs and 61 RBIs in 102 games, all of 2023 so that he’d get enough at-bats and reps on the field.

Atlanta even had Grissom undergo some outfield work to further explore the possibilities of keeping him aboard, but ultimately the organization decided it was best to let him develop elsewhere.

In Boston, where defense was a massive issue last season, Grissom’s presence goes a long way in providing Red Sox manager Alex Cora with some much-needed stability at second base — a step in the right direction.