The Red Sox have been without second baseman Vaughn Grissom for all of the 2024 season after the 23-year-old missed spring training due to a groin strain.
Early expectations put Grissom’s timetable for return in the range of mid- to late-April, though Katie Morrison-O’Day of Masslive noted Saturday that Grissom and the club plan to take his rehab slowly as he looks to build up for the season. Per Morrison-O’Day, Grissom has mostly played DH throughout his rehab assignment to this point but has ramped up his time at second base in recent days, including playing all seven innings of the second game of Worcester’s double-header Saturday.
That Grissom was ready to play a full game at the keystone is surely an encouraging sign for Red Sox fans, as the big league club has suffered injuries of varying severity to shortstop Trevor Story, outfielder Tyler O’Neill, third baseman Rafael Devers and first baseman Triston Casas already in the young 2024 campaign.
With Story set to miss the rest of the season, O’Neill and Casas both on the injured list and Devers day-to-day, Boston’s positional mix could certainly use the boost that Grissom could provide. Acquired from the Braves in exchange for Chris Sale this past winter, the youngster has hit a solid .287/.339/.407 in sporadic playing time at the big league level over the past two seasons. That solid slash line is supplemented by incredible numbers at Triple-A last year, where he posted a .921 OPS in 102 games.
The Red Sox don’t seem inclined to rush Grissom back to the majors despite the rash of injuries. Manager Alex Cora recently indicated that the youngster won’t join the club ahead of their next trip, which begins on Friday. Grissom himself seems to be on board with being cautious ahead of his return, telling Morrison-O’Day that he wants to be “really ready” to return in order to “give [the Red Sox] the best version of myself I can.”
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