Red Sox’s Blockbuster Trade Prize Breaks Silence On Leaving Team

The Boston Red Sox were unable to leave the Major League Baseball Winter Meeting with a coveted prize for the batting order.

After the team parted ways with franchise slugger Rafael Devers and freed up some significant salary in the process, fans are hoping they will use that surplus to bring in an impact free agent bat. But with Pete Alonso agreeing to join the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, at least one Red Sox option came off the board.

“The profile that I’ve talked about wanting to add is certainly one he would fit,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said of Alonso, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “He’s a prolific bat that’s going to be in the middle of the order. He’ll be in our division, so we’ll see plenty of him. Got to figure out how to get him out at this point.”

Though the Red Sox missed out on Alonso, Breslow and the front office have been busy this winter.

The team brought in veteran starter Sonny Gray as a key rotation mate for ace Garrett Crochet. And, shortly after that, it executed a trade to land Pittsburgh Pirates starter Johan Oviedo as well.

Then, in a less impactful move, the Red Sox brought in Los Angeles Angels outfielder Isaiah Jackson by trading away infielder Vaughn Grissom.

Grissom is probably best known to Red Sox fans as the primary return that the team received from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for perennial All-Star Chris Sale. Sale went on to win a Cy Young Award with the Braves, while Grissom batted just .190 for the Red Sox in 2024 and spent this past season in the minor leagues.

Now, with Grissom shipped out of Boston, it’s pretty fair to say the trade was an unqualified loss for the Red Sox. But in his parting words about the franchise, the once-promising infielder tried to find some positives.

“As much as I wanted it to work out in Boston, it just wasn’t the reality,” Grissom told The Boston Globe’s Tim Healy. “I learned a lot, which was cool. I learned a lot about myself. But I’m definitely happy to be on my way to the Angels.”

Grissom could find another opportunity to prove himself as an everyday big-league player with the Angels. And the Red Sox were finally able to fully put their blockbuster trade of Sale behind them.

Now the player and team can move forward and hope for some better outcomes ahead.