The Boston Red Sox's bench feels frightfully thin at the moment. With Trevor Story, Romy González and Rafael Devers all sidelined or banged up, the infield is dangerously unstable.
But the Red Sox have reinforcements coming. Vaughn Grissom has begun his rehab assignment with the Worcester Red Sox and he's taken some reps in the field.
The Red Sox acquired Grissom this winter from the Atlanta Braves as their prize in the trade of Chris Sale. Many Boston fans have forgotten about Grissom at this stage in the game — he didn't play a single spring training game and his long-winded recovery progress has been a smaller story in the grand scheme of the Red Sox's season.
The infielder is working his way back from a groin strain that he's been battling since March, and his ability to start on Opening Day was in question from the jump.
Red Sox have infield reinforcements coming soon in Vaughn Grissom
The 23-year-old has made three appearances for the WooSox during his rehab assignment and he only batted in two of them. Grissom only has a small sample size of at-bats so far, but he's batting .100/.182/.100. His first and only hit in a Red Sox uniform so far was a single, and he's struck out three times.
Grissom's defensive debut came on April 18 and he'll play defense again on the 19. He's been taking his reps at second base, which is where the Red Sox initially intended to use the infielder while Story was healthy, but he's a natural shortstop, which could offer the Red Sox some defensive versatility.
👉WooSox skipper Chad Tracy on having Vaughn Grissom:
— Beyond the Monster (@BeyondtheMnstr) April 17, 2024
“He’s always pretty much in a good mood. He’s high-energy, full of life, and he works really hard. We always see him doing stuff outside with Flo; he takes his ground balls very seriously. He’s a very hard worker.
“I thought… pic.twitter.com/N0X282lkbz
WooSox manager Chad Tracy has praised Grissom for his work ethic and says the infielder has been taking his defensive rebound seriously. Despite his three strikeouts from his early games with Worcester, Tracy also credited Grissom for posting quality at-bats.
Rob Refsnyder, who has recovered from a fractured pinky toe, began his rehab assignment around the same time as Grissom. Refsnyder made his 2024 Red Sox debut on April 18, which had many fans wondering about Grissom's progress. The outfielder joined Boston for its series against Pittsburgh on April 19, but manager Alex Cora expressed that Grissom may need his whole 20-day rehab assignment to be ready.
Grissom didn't play a single game in spring training while Refsnyder did, so this is Grissom's official warm-up for the season. Reinforcements are coming, Red Sox Nation — hopefully, Grissom will be ready for big-league play by the end of the month.