Atlanta Braves prospect Vaughn Grissom is a fan favorite and really talented 22 year old infielder, but there’s just no room for him right now on the roster, and it’s hard to figure out what his future will be with the club. But there are some options….
- Trade him in the offseason. He is a solid prospect with 216 MLB at bats and five years of control after 2023. That makes him very valuable in trade. With Eddie Rosario becoming a free agent, could they trade Grissom for a good veteran left fielder where another team is looking to offload some payroll for the super cheap salary Grissom will have for at least the next two years?
- Play Left Field in 2024. He is 6′-2″, 210 and a good hitter, but not a great defensive infielder. So, if Rosario leaves it seems like a good fit to have Grissom play LF. But there are two issues with this: one – is he willing to move to LF considering that since he doesn’t have a lot of power (yet) his future earnings will be better if he can play SS or 2B. Two – the Braves have a lot of right handed bats, and probably want a left handed hitter in LF….which probably means the Braves will pick up Rosario’s contract option for 2024.
- Bench role in 2024. Vaughn has nothing left to prove in the minors. He has hit well over .300 in every level of the minors including .327 in 406 plate appearances at AAA this year. So put him on the bench with Nicky Lopez and ____ backup outfielder, and he’ll be there if you need him. If Orlando Arcia takes a step back in 2024 then maybe Vaughn does take over at SS. Having a really talented player on the bench is great for depth, especially since he’ll be making the league minimum.
- DH in 2025. Marcell Ozuna is signed through 2024. He does have a $16 million club option for 2025 that could keep him around though. If Ozuna is not on the 2025 team, Grissom could fit in at DH considering that his bat is his strength.
- LF in 2025. Maybe the Braves want a left-handed hitting option in LF for 2024, but if Ozuna is gone by 2025, they could sign a left-handed hitting DH and move Grissom to left field then.
- Become the Braves next long term Shortstop. Dansby Swanson was the Braves SS for six years, and after not re-signing him it seemed like Vaughn Grissom was the next one waiting in the wings. But consider that Grissom made it to the big leages a full year younger (age 21) than Swanson did (age 22) and Grissom missed a full year of minor league seasoning due to Covid….so you could say he is two years behind where Swanson was when he broke in. Could Arcia just be a stop-gap that is happening to have an All-Star year? Will Arcia be able to continue this? He has half of his [8 year] career WAR in 2023. It may not happen in 2024, but will Arcia’s hitting erode and Grissom’s defense improve to the point where the switch is made?
It will be interesting to see what happens with Vaughn Grissom going forward. He is a really valuable player to the Braves future plans either in trade or on the field. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t trade him unless it is for a really good left fielder or solid starting pitcher because even though he’s bench depth right now, there may come a time when you really need his bat in the lineup.
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