Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos was candid about Vaughn Grissom and his quest to take hold of Atlanta’s shortstop opening after Dansby Swanson’s departure.
After the Braves let Dansby Swanson leave in free agency, there was tons of speculation that Vaughn Grissom would be the future at shortstop in Atlanta.
But are the Braves really ready to hand over the reins at such a key position to a 6-foot-3 21-year-old with two games of experience at the position in the big leagues?
That was the question asked of GM Alex Anthopoulos during his appearance on The Athletic’s “755 Is Real” podcast.
The apparent answer? It’s all still up in the air.
Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos says Vaughn Grissom will compete at shortstop
During his lengthy answer on the subject of Grissom and shortstop, Anthopoulos made two things very clear: First, infield coach Ron Washington believes Grissom can be an everyday shortstop in the majors. Second, he’ll have to go through Orlando Arcia to make that a reality in 2023.
“Vaughn is going to compete with Orlando Arcia,” Anthopoulos said to start it all.
https://twitter.com/TheAthleticMLB/status/1612966116493590528
Just as the Braves believe Grissom can ultimately get the job done at shortstop, they believe that Arcia can fill that role after spending most of the 2022 season at second base.
“He had proven to be a starting shortstop [with the Brewers],” Anthopoulos said. “We still think he can, he’s still a young guy.”
Grissom clearly has more upside, but he’s a “work in progress from a defensive standpoint.” So the question for him is whether he can tighten up that element of his game enough to convince the Braves staff not to slot Arcia ahead of him.
“To say we don’t care about the bat is probably a little strong. But [it’s the] same way behind the plate — the first priority is the defense, especially at that position. Gotta catch the baseball, make the plays,” Anthopoulos said. “So I know Orlando Arcia can make the plays. So does Snit, so does the staff. Vaughn, Wash really believes can do it.”
Belief from Washington, who the GM says “should know better than anybody else,” really seems to be the driving force behind Grissom getting a chance at shortstop.
“If it wasn’t Wash [getting Grissom ready to play shortstop], I can’t tell you I’d feel the same way,” Anthopoulos said. “But he feels so strongly about his aptitude, his instincts…He really thinks Vaughn has those intangibles and those tools to be an everyday big-league shortstop.”
The biggest takeaway for Braves fans should be this quote from Anthopoulos:
“If Wash believes that he can be that guy — it may not be in ‘23, he may get optioned. [Grissom] knows that. He may, for whatever reason, need to go back (to the minors), but he’ll have every opportunity to do it. And Orlando will too, and we’ll go with the best player.“
Let the position battle begin.