Just a few weeks away from Opening Day, the Boston Red Sox still don't have a clear second baseman.
With Rafael Devers' refusal to move off of third base and the team's reticence to force him off of it themselves, the hot corner that Alex Bregman has spent over 8,500 innings at in his major league career will probably be unavailable. That could move Bregman to second base (where he's only spent 32 innings), but a move to second also creates problems.
The main concern around Bregman at second is that it would block top prospect Kristian Campbell from debuting in earnest this year, but there are also three other infielders who the Red Sox might not know how to place. David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez, and Vaughn Grissom are all in the mix.
Hamilton and Gonzalez have been decent in spring training so far (.250 average, .798 OPS for Hamilton, .500/1.167 for Gonzalez, though he's only played in two games), but Grissom is basically taking himself out of contention with his .158 average and .449 OPS over seven games.
Vaughn Grissom's performance in spring training so far isn't going to get him a spot on Red Sox's Opening Day roster
Vaughn Grissom spoke. He says he’s excited about the Bregman acquisition and it motivates him bc he wants to be on the field at the same time as him. He described himself as a ballplayer who is versatile and willing to play wherever needed, including OF
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) February 13, 2025
Grissom was far from the favorite going into camp after having another injury-riddled season in his first year with the Red Sox and performing poorly when he was on the active roster. Whatever promise he showed in the Braves organization before he came over in the Chris Sale trade has seemed to disappear completely with Boston.
It feels likely that the Red Sox will put Bregman at second base on Opening Day, despite it being a position he's largely unfamiliar with. If that is the case, they'll have to scramble to figure out the rest with Hamilton, Gonzalez, and Grissom, who were probably never going to be able to get around Bregman and his $120 million deal, no matter how well they performed in spring training.
However, Grissom's not only not playing himself out of a starting role, he also might be playing his way off the roster altogether. Even if the Red Sox don't want to trade him and let another team try to fix him up and find some of that old top prospect potential, he still has a minor league option left, so he very well could start the season in the minors.