Red Sox have buyer's remorse with Vaughn Grissom, and it's tough to blame them

The Boston Red Sox were mostly quiet this past offseason much to the frustration of their fan base, but they did make one massive move. They traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that sent Vaughn Grissom to Boston.

At the time, this felt like a win-win for both sides. Sale had made just 31 starts in his last four seasons with the Red Sox with 20 of those coming in 2023. They traded him and his uncertainty for Grissom, a promising infielder who never got a fair shot with the Braves. With all of their infield depth, it was going to be tough for Grissom to find regular playing time in Atlanta. The Braves got a high-upside pitcher in Sale who, when healthy, could conceivably still produce.

The deal might've made some sense for both sides at the time, but in hindsight, the deal looks brutal for the Red Sox. Even the Red Sox themselves seem to have buyer's remorse according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

"The Boston Red Sox can’t help but wonder if only they had retained Chris Sale instead of trading him to Atlanta for injured infielder Vaughn Grissom."

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Chris Sale trade aging as poorly as it possibly can for the Red Sox

Not only are they watching Sale look like the Sale of old, but they're paying $17 million for Sale to dominate for Atlanta while the Braves are paying just $500,000 as Nightengale notes. That's a tough pill to swallow.

As unlucky as it is to see Sale suddenly find a way to stay healthy after changing his uniform, it would've been fine had Grissom done anything for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, it's been a lost season for Grissom.

The 23-year-old was expected to be Boston's Opening Day second baseman, but a hamstring injury knocked him out for the first month of the season. He'd finally return in May but had just 12 hits in 81 at-bats (.148 BA) with only one of those hits going for extra bases. He played just about every day for a month before landing right back on the IL with another hamstring injury.

Grissom has been out since early June. He has played 11 games on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester, but has just a .682 OPS in those games. Boston may choose to leave him in the minors after his rehab clock expires, again highlighting just how rough of a season this has been for him.

The Red Sox likely would've been able to live with Sale having the year he has had if Grissom was showing any signs that he could be their future second baseman. They would've even lived with a lost season for Grissom had Sale struggled in Atlanta. Having Sale pitch like the NL Cy Young frontrunner while Grissom has barely played (and struggled when he has) is the absolute worst-case scenario.

Honestly, it'd be concerning if they didn't have buyer's remorse after seeing how this trade has played out.