Red Sox were ‘adamant’ in acquiring Vaughn Grissom from the Braves
Anthopoulos: 'We weren’t going to be able to get a guy like Chris Sale unless Vaughn was the guy going the other way.'
The Red Sox made a surprise trade on Saturday, sending left-hander Chris Sale and $17 million dollars to the Braves for infielder Vaughn Grissom.
Boston went into trade negotiations with Atlanta adamant on acquiring Grissom.
“I would have loved to have kept him, (but they) were pretty adamant about (receiving Vaughn as the return),” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Saturday following the trade with the Red Sox.
Anthopoulos wanted to keep Grissom but had no place on his major league roster for the young infielder. The Braves have Ozzie Albies at second base, Orlando Arcia at shortstop and Austin Riley at third base. With three All-Stars occupying those positions, Grissom was on the outside looking in.
Grissom played just 23 games in the bigs last season. He posted strong numbers at Triple-A slashing .330/.419/.501, with 8 homers and 48 extra-base hits in 102 games.
“We weren’t going to be able to get a guy like Chris Sale unless Vaughn was the guy going the other way,” said Anthopoulos. “You’re not going to find a better human being. The makeup is as good as it gets. High-energy player, makes people around him better, can flat hit, tremendous bat-to-ball skills. . . . He’s absolutely ready to be an everyday player at the big-league level right now. And this is a great opportunity for him in his career.
“He’s going to be a fantastic fit there,” added Anthopoulos. “It’s a painful [deal], because of how highly we view him, but it’s a much better fit for his career.”
Grissom is no longer blocked by All-Stars and will now get an opportunity to contribute for the Red Sox this season.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow sang the praises of Grissom calling him ““a really strong righthanded bat who’s been an elite performer in the minor leagues, and someone who comes with six years of control. I’ve talked long about the exciting emerging core of players around whom we want to build. That group is growing, and we certainly count Vaughn in that group.”
Baring a trade, the Red Sox infield will feature Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, Triston Casas and Grissom. If Story can have a healthy 2024, he will work with Grissom to offer a potential strong double play combination up the middle.
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