There was a time, not along ago, when the notion of the Red Sox jettisoning an ace like Chris Sale for a minor-league second baseman with some promise seemed a fair deal. That’s what Boston did, just before Christmas in 2023, as the oft-injured Sale went to the Braves in exchange for second baseman Vaughn Grissom, who had hit .330 with a .921 OPS at Triple A that year. The Red Sox had (and still have) a long-standing hole at second base, and it certainly looked as though Grissom was going to fill it.
MLB.com writer Ian Browne wrote of the deal: “What we might have here is the perfect match.”
Like so much for the Red Sox in the last two years, though, what was outstanding minor-league production never translated to the majors. In fact, Grissom only got 31 games in the big leagues with the Red Sox, in 2024, in which he hit .191. He struggled with hamstring injuries in 2025, but still hit .270 with 13 home runs in 98 games. Grissom never was recalled, though, even as the Red Sox shuffled through unappealing second-base solutions.
Vaughn Grissom Traded to Angels
Turns out, that all bothered Grissom. Though he never quite matched the production he showed in 2023, he still thought he deserved a crack at the Red Sox’s second-base job. But, as Grissom sees it, he is no analytics darling, and that’s why Boston ultimately passed him over.
Grissom was traded to the Angles this winter, and has been solid as the team’s everyday second baseman, batting .250 with a .697 OPS in 79 games.
Vaughn Grissom: Red Sox Passed Him Over Because of ‘Computer’
He explained to Mac Cerullo, the Red Sox’s beat writer for the Boston Herald, why he never got his Fenway chance: “I think I would probably attribute that to the computer, you know what I mean? You have to watch the game and I think I’m damn near the same player, it’s just the opportunity, these people believe in me and in Boston there was no belief in the player. It is what it is, some people watch the game, some people go on the computer. …
“Yeah, I don’t know, maybe I don’t look the best on paper but you watch enough and you see what the player is bringing,”
Red Sox Analytics Have Been Criticized
Indeed, that has been one of the big complaints about the way the Red Sox have approached team-building in recent years, that there is too much reliance on crunching the analytics and not enough simply watching players who help teams win. There are some indications that president Craig Breslow is adjusting that approach–he was uncharacteristically aggressive at the trade deadline–but that’s too late for Grissom.
The trade of Sale has been regrettable in hindsight, but at the time, the Red Sox had gotten just 31 starts from him in four seasons. It was time to move on. But he has gone 37-15 with a 2.39 ERA in three seasons since the deal.
For what it’s worth, Isaiah Jackson, the outfielder the Red Sox acquired from the Angels for Grissom, is batting just .235 at Single-A Greenville, but has 17 homers in 84 games.
Ex-Red Sox ‘Perfect Match’ Prospect Takes Swipe at Front Office After Trade