Vaughn Grissom trade opens roster spot, but Red Sox remain inactive at Winter Meetings – The Athletic
ORLANDO, Fla. — While many of Craig Breslow’s trades have worked out in his two years leading the Boston Red Sox, he took action on Tuesday to correct one of his worst.
The Red Sox traded Vaughn Grissom to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor-league outfielder Isaiah Jackson, a 2025 eighth-round pick. The move opened a 40-man roster spot for another potential move.
Breslow acquired Grissom for starter Chris Sale in a trade with the Atlanta Braves ahead of the 2024 season. Grissom never found his footing in Boston, dealing with a series of injuries and inconsistency at the plate. He hit .190 with a .465 OPS in just 31 games in 2024 and spent all of 2025 in Triple A. Sale, who’d been injured much of the previous four seasons, went on to win the 2024 National League Cy Young Award.
“Sometimes that’s the way things work out,” Breslow said. “Vaughn is a great kid and a great player, and still 24 years old, so I think that there’s a bright future ahead of him, but just thinking about the way that our roster is coming together, the path to having an impact here is probably not super clear. And so we’re able to make this trade to bring in Isaiah Jackson, an outfielder that we like — young, just drafted last year, hits the ball hard, can play really good defense — and we’re excited to get him into our development system.”
With an already crowded infield and no playing time in sight for Grissom, the Red Sox completed the deal in hopes of opening a spot for a better fit on the roster. Breslow said the trade doesn’t necessarily indicate the team is planning to add a player in the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the Red Sox have holes to fill.
A year ago, the Red Sox had little to show through two days at Winter Meetings before pulling off the Garrett Crochet trade on the final day. There’s been an equal level of inaction this year so far from the Red Sox.
“I’ve said this I think every time that I get asked about either signing a free agent or a trade, there are moments in time where you feel like things are really, really close, and then just a couple minutes later or hours later, you feel like you’re really far apart,” Breslow said. “So we’re obviously engaged across a bunch of different paths with other teams, with free agents. We’re going to be aggressive and decisive and try to improve our roster. Exactly when that will happen is really hard to handicap.”
With one target, Kyle Schwarber, off the board already after signing a five-year deal with Philadelphia, it appears the Red Sox are narrowing their focus to slugger Pete Alonso.
For the second day in a row, Breslow doubled down on the need for power in the team’s lineup.
“Our offensive profile, I think, lacks a little bit of thump, and that’s where we’ve set our sights,” he said. “There are other ways to improve the team. But I think we’re just going to exhaust that type of power profile first before we potentially look at alternatives.”
Alonso, a Tampa native, made the trip to Orlando on Tuesday to join his agent Scott Boras in meetings with interested teams. Boras said he’s met with the Red Sox on several players and has seen interest by ownership to spend and improve this offseason.
The Red Sox have indeed been pursuing multiple paths. Alonso remains a target, but so too does Alex Bregman. Re-signing Bregman, while not a major power bat, may mean the club seeks to add another bat via trade with both Isaac Paredes and Ketel Marte.
Breslow downplayed the idea of adding players via trade, noting the high cost.
“In a lot of the conversations that we’ve had, a number of teams have conveyed that they’re very comfortable holding onto their players, as are we,” he said. “So that does add a little bit of a layer of difficulty to try to make these things work.”
The Red Sox have also shown interest in free agents Bo Bichette and Eugenio Suárez.
Earlier in the day, manager Alex Cora addressed the media for the first time this offseason but largely spoke about his current players, avoiding speculation about who the team might acquire.
Cora wants to see more from Wilyer Abreu, a player he feels can be a major power threat for the club. He said he’ll let Abreu face more left-handed pitchers this upcoming season.
“We have to see if they can do it,” Cora said. “It’s about that time, especially with Abreu. And if he can hit lefties and hit for power and play defense the way he’s done the last few years, he can be the guy.”
As the Red Sox seek to find a spot on the roster for Krisitan Campbell, Cora said he recently had dinner with the rookie, who is playing winter ball in Cora’s hometown in Puerto Rico.
“He opened up about the season. It was really, really good, from my standpoint. The ups and downs, the expectations, the contract, Triple A, the big leagues, the adjustments,” Cora said. “He’s in a good place. And we’re going to take care of him down there. I told him, I said, ‘Hey, man, you live five minutes from my house, but I’m not here to babysit you.’”
Cora noted it was crucial for Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela to play winter ball in previous years and hopes the same will help Campbell, who’s added strength and weight this offseason while making some swing adjustments.
“I would love for him to hit .400, but if he struggles, it really doesn’t matter,” Cora said. “It’s a matter of executing the adjustments he made the last month and a half, and we’ll see.”
With one day left in Winter Meetings, the Red Sox have plenty to do and little to show thus far.
