Boston Red Sox fans were saddled with mixed emotions when the organization traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves in Dec. 2023.
On the one hand, Sale had been with the organization for six years and brought a World Series title to the city as part of one of the best Red Sox teams Boston had ever seen. On the other hand, Sale's later seasons with the Red Sox indicated that he needed a change of scenery.
The new home and new ballclub worked for Sale and he's been one of the best pitchers in the league since the trade. Sale has pitched to a 2.46 ERA in 160.2 innings and clocked 206 strikeouts. It's the first time he's passed 200 batters fanned since 2019.
Meanwhile, Vaughn Grissom has spent the season either injured or in Triple-A, which is not the outcome Red Sox Nation expected when the Sale trade initially went through. The young second baseman was billed as an excellent hitter based on his years in the Braves minor league system, where he most recently batted .330/.419/.501 with a .920 OPS over 102 games during the 2023 season in Triple-A.
The Chris Sale-Vaughn Grissom trade backfired for the Red Sox this season
Can anyone catch Tarik Skubal or Chris Sale in the Cy Young races? pic.twitter.com/zUHQOVxda4
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2024
The Red Sox's second base situation has been tumultuous in recent years. Eleven different Sox have started at second base this season while Grissom was intended to be the everyday guy in the middle infield.
The Sale-Grissom trade was supposed to set the Red Sox up for the future — Grissom is just 23 years old and under team control until after the 2029 season — but it surely backfired this year. Grissom has only seen 23 games of major league action, he's having the worst year of his career in the minors and the Sox had to pay Sale's $17 million salary with virtually nothing in return this season.
Grissom still has a lot to give in his baseball career and the Red Sox have plenty of time to right the ship for the young infielder, but the Sale trade was also supposed to make the Red Sox better this year, and that did not happen. It cost Boston millions of dollars and, potentially, another lost season if it misses the playoffs.