Red Sox’ Vaughn Grissom suffers groin strain, doubtful to play on Opening Day
Grissom hasn't played in a game yet in spring training, but was expected to make his preseason debut this weekend.
The Red Sox will likely be without the full-time second baseman they acquired this offseason to open 2024.
Vaughn Grissom suffered a groin strain that will put him in doubt for Opening Day, manager Alex Cora said Saturday.
“He’ll be out. We’re gonna shut him down,” Cora told reporters Saturday. “It happened two days ago taking ground balls. He had an MRI yesterday. We feel comfortable where we’re at, but obviously uncomfortable with where we’re at. It’s gonna take more than a few days. Obviously, no timetable. But with this now, Opening Day might not happen for him.”
The Red Sox were slow playing him to get ready for the season. As he was dealing with a hamstring issue, Grissom largely worked on the field in the first few weeks of spring training and hasn’t played in an exhibition game.
The Red Sox acquired Grissom, a once-promising prospect, from the Braves in the trade that ended Chris Sale’s tenure in Boston in December. As Boston has mostly struggled to find a full-time second baseman since Dustin Pedroia’s career in 2018, the organization felt Grissom could help solve that problem.
“In Grissom, we saw someone that we felt was a dynamic athlete who could play all over the field and offered a ton of versatility,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said at the time of the trade. “Most likely to settle in at second base, someone with a really strong right-handed bat who’s been an elite performer in the minor leagues.”
But the start of Grissom’s full-time duties will be shelved to open the season. Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes are expected to split time at second base with Grissom sidelined.
Valdez and Reyes were just two of the handful of players who recorded several innings at second base for the Red Sox last season. Valdez committed seven errors in 357 innings at second, while Reyes had four errors in 196 innings. At the plate, Valdez slashed .266/.311/.453 with six homers, 19 RBIs, and five stolen bases in 139 at-bats. Reyes slashed .287/.339/.716 with two homers, 20 RBIs, and seven stolen bases in 167 at-bats.
Grissom was once one of the top prospects in the Braves’ system. He hit well over his 41-game stint with Atlanta in 2022, slashing .291/.353/.440 with five homers and 18 RBIs. However, he failed to win the shortstop battle after Dansby Swanson left in 2023, losing out to Orlando Arcia. Grissom slashed just .280/.313/.347 and didn’t hit a home run in 20 games last season.
The Red Sox open the season against the Mariners in Seattle on March 28.
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