Red Sox Lay Out Return Plan For Injured Infielder Vaughn Grissom

After rotating different pieces at second base for the majority of last season, the Boston Red Sox will have Vaughn Grissom hold down the position on a full-time basis in 2024.

But manager Alex Cora won’t be able to pencil Grissom into the lineup right away.

Grissom, who Boston acquired from the Atlanta Braves this offseason in exchange for Chris Sale, wasn’t heard from much during spring training due to a groin strain he suffered early on in camp, and he won’t be ready to take the field for Opening Day with Boston facing the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Thursday.

But a timeline for when Grissom could make his debut with the Red Sox is starting to take shape.

“The plan for Vaughn Grissom is to stay in extended spring training until April 7, then rejoin the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the home opener before being assigned to a minor league team,” The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham wrote Tuesday.

It’s unclear how much time Grissom will need in the minors to get game ready since he didn’t play in a single spring training contest. But if all goes well, it seems like he could return sometime in April.

The 23-year-old joins the Red Sox with plenty of potential, but didn’t get many opportunities to show it on a stacked Braves team. Grissom, who made his major league debut in 2022 at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, appeared in just 64 games with Atlanta over the last two seasons, compiling a .287 batting average with five home runs and 27 RBIs to go along with five stolen bases.

Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes are expected to get the nod at second base with Grissom’s first appearance in a Red Sox uniform put on hold for the moment.