Braves star has heartbreaking reaction to Vaughn Grissom being traded

The Atlanta Braves finally made a huge splash this offseason. Right before New Year's Eve, general manager Alex Anthopoulos seemingly woke up from his slumber to add another arm to his rotation. Atlanta acquired perennial All-Star southpaw Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for popular middle infielder Vaughn Grissom. His time with Atlanta has unfortunately come to an end.

Grissom's bat got him to the big leagues two years ago, but his glove, or lack thereof, had him between a rock and a hard place in Atlanta. His fielding prevented him from taking the starting shortstop job last spring that went to first-time All-Star Orlando Arcia after Dansby Swanson signed with the Chicago Cubs. The idea of putting Grissom in left field was interesting, but now for naught.

While Atlanta gains a potential huge boost to its starting rotation in Sale, it loses one of its young stars in the process. Grissom was well-liked in Braves Country, but those in the know knew playing time was going to be hard for him to find. The same issues arose for former backup backstop and designated hitter William Contreras last offseason. Of course, some Braves are torn up over this.

Just look at how his fellow former Troublemaker Michael Harris II is taking the news of this trade.

Grissom and Harris along with starting pitcher Spencer Strider played a huge part in the 2022 Braves overcoming a double-digit-game deficit to the New York Mets to win an NL East race for the ages.

Braves OF Michael Harris II reacts accordingly to Vaughn Grissom trade

This is the latest example of how MLB is a business. Ideally, Grissom would have been able to grow and learn alongside Harris and Strider at the big-league level on one of the best teams in baseball for the next several years. Unfortunately, Atlanta is too good at the current moment to keep a streaky hitter with a questionable glove on the roster in a glorified platoon of sorts. A trade was inevitable.

The hope in all this is a fair trade. Atlanta gets answers to the questions we all have with the back-end of its starting rotation in Sale. A more consistent rotation could do wonders for this club come October. As for Boston, the Red Sox may be gaining a future fan favorite in Grissom, one with untapped, but All-Star-level potential. Harris should be happy for him, but the end is still bittersweet.

I think what this trade shows more than anything is Atlanta is still producing top-flight talent in its once-barren farm system. The Braves continue to make that part of its organization a priority, which affords guys with major-league talent like Grissom to be stockpiled at Triple-A Gwinnett. Boston is in need of playmakers, so why not take a flier on this former Troublemaker, even if Harris is in his feels?

Braves Country was hoping for a big move all offseason long, so just be careful what you wish for.