Red Sox fans feuding over Vaughn Grissom flu debate amid early struggles

Former Atlanta Braves infielder Vaughn Grissom's start with his new ball club has been less than ideal on multiple fronts.

Grissom missed all of spring training with a groin injury. He was scheduled to make his Boston Red Sox debut in late April, but a severe bout of the flu delayed him even further.

Grissom debuted on May 3 and in the 10 games he's played since, he's batted .146/.146/.171. Ten games is too small of a sample size to critique his play, but Red Sox Nation expected Grissom's impact to be a bit more immediate (and not this bad).

The infielder is combatting some residual effects from his illness. He and Alex Cora have shared that he lost 14 pounds while ill, and the flu affected his stamina. The flu, coupled with months of injury recovery, are far from a good combination before an MLB season debut.

Red Sox fans debate cause of Vaughn Grissom's slow start

Red Sox fans have polarizing opinions about Grissom at the start of his career with the team. Many have taken to social media to share that he isn't meeting expectations and that they should call up other players in favor of him.

Some are OK with his early showings — he got just nine games of Triple-A action before he had to be called up to the big leagues due to 20-day restrictions on rehab assignments for position players. He's also learning a new position. Grissom is a natural shortstop who has been transitioned to second base for the Red Sox's needs.

Grissom is 23 years old with just 74 games of MLB experience. He still has a lot of growing to do as a player. His defense has improved the middle infield and his bat will surely follow with time, but this definitely isn't the "real" version of him, and anybody ignoring that injury + flu recovery wouldn't have a significant impact on his ability to get up to full game speed, then they're not evaluating the situation properly.

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