While Chris Sale is currently on the injured list which makes being optimistic difficult (among other reasons), Atlanta Braves fans have to be thrilled with how the Sale trade turned out. The Braves got a Cy Young winner out of the deal who might have contended for another this year had he not gotten hurt and they only gave up Vaughn Grissom who clearly wasn't in their plans. As it turns out, Atlanta may have more reasons to be happy to be rid of Grissom.
After a trying tenure with the Braves where he struggled to make an impact during multiple stints in the big leagues, Grissom went to Boston with a realistic path towards playing time. However, it seems as though the Red Sox have soured on Grissom and have passed him over for a promotion repeatedly recently despite his hitting well down at Triple-A.
Making matters worse, Grissom now seems to be taking the lack of a promotion personally and has now escalated his displeasure publicly in comments to the media that are probably just going to make his and Boston's lives harder.
Vaughn Grissom today: “I don’t really expect much more opportunity here just because decisions that were made were made, and it kind of didn’t involve me. I mean, all those decisions, they make sense in a way, but I guess it sucks a little bit."https://t.co/YpsL9vaF8o
— Katie Morrison-O'Day (@KatieMo61) July 29, 2025
Vaughn Grissom's temper tantrum should have Braves fans breathing a sigh of relief
The comments in question were made to local media covering Triple-A Worcester and they were quite blunt. Grissom is very clearly upset over the perceived lack of respect he has been getting despite performing well and said point blank that he doesn't expect "much more opportunity here" given how things have been handled.
Generally speaking, that is probably not what one says about your current employer publicly if you want to stick around. Grissom's frustration is understandable, but there are definitely better ways to handle that frustration. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that Grissom has sounded off about the Red Sox and now one wonders if this is a pattern of behavior from him when he doesn't get his way.
Thankfully, this isn't the Braves' problem anymore. While it would be nice to have a talented, if flawed, bat like Grissom around right now during Atlanta's 2025 collapse, it is looking more and more like their are some very real make-up/attitude concerns that come with him. The Red Sox shouldn't be off the hook as their ability to communicate under Craig Breslow with their players is famously terrible, but Braves fans shouldn't be too sad that Grissom is gone.