Inside The Red Sox

Vaughn Grissom Celebrates Trade, Offers Blunt Assessment On Red Sox Tenure

Jackson Roberts|
Mar 4, 2025; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox second base Vaughn Grissom (5) singles during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Mar 4, 2025; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox second base Vaughn Grissom (5) singles during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Boston Red SoxLos Angeles Angels

Few Boston Red Sox players were more of an afterthought this season than infielder Vaughn Grissom.

After a disappointing debut season in Boston following the infamous Chris Sale trade with the Atlanta Braves, Grissom was passed up on the second base depth chart by top prospect Kristian Campbell to begin the season. He spent the entire year in Triple-A, which made it no surprise to see him traded on Tuesday to the Los Angeles Angels.

Boston got a wild-card prospect for Grissom in the form of former Arizona State outfielder Isaiah Jackson, and frankly, freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster was just as important. But for Grissom, the trade to an Angels team with a wide-open depth chart is something of a reprieve.

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Grissom heads to Angels, hopes for opportunity

On Wednesday, Grissom opened up about his reaction to the trade and the unfortunate truths of his time in Boston, which concluded with only 31 major league games played and negative-0.2 bWAR.

“As much as I wanted it to work out in Boston, it just wasn’t the reality. And I’m happy for my opportunity with the Angels,” Grissom said, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. “I learned a lot, which was cool. I learned a lot about myself. But I’m definitely happy to be on my way to the Angels.”

Grissom's opportunity with the Red Sox was once wide-open too, but he injured his hamstring in spring training last year, then everything went awry. He caught a nasty virus of some sort that caused him to lose 14 pounds during his rehab, then never got where he needed to be from a physical perspective for the rest of the year.

Boston would have had to designate Grissom for assignment at some point during the offseason if they couldn't find a trade for him, so getting even a relatively unknown prospect like Jackson was a win. But Grissom was once seen as a Top-100 prospect talent, so he's got a chance to make Boston regret his exit.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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