On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox pulled the plug on the Vaughn Grissom era, trading him to the Los Angeles Angels, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.
The return for Grissom is outfielder Isaiah Jackson, whom the Angels drafted in the eighth round this past summer. Jackson spent three seasons at Arizona State University. In his final year for the Sun Devils, Jackson hit .310 with 18 home runs and 14 stolen bases, but his calling card is his defense.
The move clears a 40-man spot for the Red Sox, with the Rule 5 Draft scheduled for Wednesday.Â
Grissom showed flashes of the player Boston coveted when it dealt 2024 National League Cy Young winner Chris Sale to Atlanta, but ultimately fell out of favor fast.
In two seasons, he played just 31 big-league games, slashing .190/.246/.219 with a 30 wRC+ and -0.7 fWAR. He was a fine ballplayer in Triple-A Worcester, hitting 19 homers in 151 games, but simply didn’t do enough to win himself an opportunity at any point in 2025.
With the Red Sox scouring the market for infield help, even reportedly exchanging names with the Arizona Diamondbacks for Ketel Marte, there was seemingly no chance for the 24-year-old to ever wear a Red Sox uniform again barring something extreme.
They tried moving him around the infield in 2025, even giving him 12 games at first base. Ultimately, the team felt the contingent of Abraham Toro, Nick Sogard, Romy Gonzalez, and Nathaniel Lowe gave them a better chance to win games in 2025. With, at the very least, Triston Casas slated to return from a ruptured patellar tendon at some point in 2026, opportunities were growing scarce. Grissom will try to revive his career in Los Angeles from here on out.