Let's be up front about this: A lot of Craig Breslow's recent moves don't look great in hindsight. For every Ranger Suárez signing or Willson Contreras trade, there's been an all-time blunder, be it the Rafael Devers saga that later bled into the team losing Alex Bregman as well, or the team opting to trade future Cy Young Chris Sale for former top prospect Vaughn Grissom.
In fairness, at the time, there was a modicum of sense behind the deal. Sale was old, injured and expensive, and the chance to trade him for someone who seemed destined to be the team's long-awaited answer at second base was too good to pass up. Unfortunately, Sale found the fountain of youth in Atlanta, while Grissom couldn't get playing time in Boston and burned a whole lot of bridges on the way out.
Of course, because it's 2026 and Red Sox fans are cosmically destined to be miserable this year, Grissom is finally living up to the hype with his new team, the Los Angeles Angels. Through 57 plate appearances, he's hitting .298/.375/.447 (126 wRC+) with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (four).
Add it to the laundry list of regrets on Breslow's ledger.
Vaughn Grissom trade somehow turning into one of Red Sox's biggest offseason blunders
It'd be hard to believe how poorly the Grissom trade is aging if this season wasn't already in the toilet. He had some big months in Worcester last year, but his 106 wRC+ in Triple-A didn't exactly portend a big-league breakout.
As the ultimate change-of-scenery candidate, though, the 25-year-old is rediscovering what launched him to the forefront of the Braves' farm system a few years ago: plenty of contact, elite plate discipline, and a hint of power. In return, the Red Sox got Isiah Jackson, a soon-to-be 22-year-old with a .680 OPS in High-A this year.
It's far too early to suggest that this Grissom trade will look as bad as the original one, but it's problematic that we're already having this conversation in May. He'd look like a really good infield option in Boston right now, particularly instead of Caleb Durbin (47 wRC+), Andruw Monasterio (84, Isiah Kiner-Falefa (37) or Marcelo Mayer (86).
Alas, the deal is done and the Angels won't be participating in any takesies-backsies. Should the Red Sox have called up Grissom last year when they had a very clear need for warm bodies on the infield? Yes. Can they go back in time and do anything about it now? The answer to that is more than likely 'no.'
It seems unlikely given his recent track record, but let's all just hope that Craig Breslow has learned his lesson from this whole saga.
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