When Dansby Swanson signed a gazillion-dollar deal to be closer to Mal, the heir apparent was Vaughn Grissom. The young, athletic infielder filled in admirably when Ozzie Albies went down in 2022. The Braves spent the winter touting his work with Ron Washington, during the off-season, and it seemed it was his job to lose.
During spring training, Grissom didn’t do much to lose the job. Both he and Braden Shewmake had respectable springs, but the AA cheat code saw something else. But, two weeks before camp broke, the heir apparent was sent down to the farm. He was replaced with Orlando Arcia, who had an All-Star season. Subsequently, Grissom would barely be seen in Atlanta in 2023.
Classy response
I can’t imagine how disappointing that move had to be for young Vaughn. To do everything you’d been asked to do. And continue to hit. To make many of the plays (not all of them, mind you), and then to lose the job to someone not even on anyone’s radar could have broken many.
Grissom acquitted himself quite well, handling the demotion like a champ. In fact, he raked at Gwinnett. He forced AAA pitching to the tune of .330/.419/.501/.920. Grissom laced 36 doubles, eight HRs, and four triples. He also walked 56 times while striking out just 66 times in 397 ABs.
The primary problem Grissom faced in the Atlanta organization is there is seemingly no place to put him. Albies is a Top-5 second baseman (regardless of what MLB Network says), Austin Riley is the best third baseman in baseball, and Arcia did enough defensively to maintain the job.
Being blocked, Grissom’s greatest value to the Braves was as a trade chip. And, just a few weeks ago, AA dealt him to Boston for Chris Sale. I’m happy for Vaughn, a seemingly good kid and fan favorite. He will get a chance to play everyday and his bat will definitely play at Fenway.
Chavez to the White Sox on an MiLB deal. How much would you wager that he’ll be a Brave by season’s end?
I’ll go 2 craft beers and a bratwurst that after pitching to a 5 ERA for the Sox he will be lights out for 2 months for the Braves
I’ll see you and raise you a jumbo pretzel.
Keith Law’s prospect list and org rankings are out.
https://theathletic.com/5258158/2024/02/09/mlb-farm-system-rankings-2024/
It’s probably not wildly surprising that the Braves ranked low on the list; Hurston Waldrep was Atlanta’s only top-100 prospect, and the system overall ranked 26th out of 30, ahead of only Houston, Miami, Anaheim, and Oakland. But as he pointed out, it’s for the right reasons: “Atlanta has traded everyone, almost.”
Per the Fangraphs odds, Atlanta’s major-league squad is the class of the league. I’m not going to say the p-word, and nobody’s won anything yet, but the Braves traded the farm to improve the major league roster, which is what you’re supposed to do, and it’s awfully hard to argue with six straight division titles, two straight 100-win seasons, a world championship, and a team that is generally regarded as the strongest on paper heading into this season.
That’s really all you can ask the suits to give you.
Now the boys on the field have to do their job, but it’s hard for me to look at the farm system rankings and think anything other than, “Great trade.”
It turned out the Braves realized that Grissom couldn’t play shortstop during Spring Training, so that’s why they gave the job to Arcia. They let Grissom continue to play short at Gwinnett so that his value wouldn’t be ranked.