What happens now, Vaughn Grissom?

You got optioned to Gwinnett. What's the next step for you?

The Atlanta Braves made a surprise move over the weekend when Orlando Arcia, who broke his wrist just over three and a half weeks ago, was activated from the injured list without a rehab stint and reclaimed his starting shortstop job in Atlanta. In a corresponding move, Vaughn Grissom was optioned to Gwinnett. 

It was a move that had to happen. 

Vaughn Grissom was drafted as a shortstop in 2019, and played there all through his time in the minors until being called up to cover at second base for an injured Ozzie Albies last season. 

But even in 2019, there were questions about his long-term defensive future. 

From Baseball America: 

Close to an average though unconventional runner now, most believe that Grissom will be below-average when he fills into a large frame, making him a better fit for third base than shortstop. He has the glovework and enough arm strength for the hot corner

From Fangraphs:

He's a likely third baseman with solid average tools and good actions that can start in pro ball at shortstop. 

You get the idea. 

And Grissom didn't exactly answer those questions or silence those doubters with his performance: In his nineteen games, he was 1st percentile in Outs Above Average across all of baseball, coming in at -4. For shortstops, he's the third worst defender, just behind Amed Rosario and Kike Hernandez. The issue there is that Outs Above Average is a rate stat - the more you play, the more (or less) Outs Above Average you accumulate. Sorting by success rate, which is normalized, shows Grissom (64%) to be the 2nd worst shortstop defender in the majors, just behind Rodolfo Castro (63%) and tied for the worst success rate added (-8%) with Kike Hernandez. 

Now, the Braves aren't ruling out Grissom eventually being the starting shortstop. In fact, third-base coach (and infield guru) Ron Washington said as much to reporters on Sunday. 

As reported by David O'Brien of The Athletic ($), Washington called both Grissom and Shewmake the future of the position:

“Shewmake and Grissom, I look at them as the future. And it’s hard sometimes to let kids grow and understand all the nuances of playing a position when you don’t have time to let them grow. For instance, that kid in Houston (shortstop Jeremy Peña) wasn’t the superstar he ended up being, not in the beginning. They weren’t sure he was going to be able to do it. But they had no choice. So he got a chance to get that experience. [...] Shewmake only had a game, but Griss had a chance to gain some experience, and I think it’s experience he can take with him,” Washington said. “And it’s going to help him down the line."

To his credit, Grissom's first game back in Gwinnett was Sunday, and he had three hits (including a double) and a run scored as the Stripers battled against Charlotte. 

The consistency at the plate is something Grissom needs to work on, as well. His Gwinnett slash line is fantastic - .400/.491/.622, albeit in only eleven games - but the production wasn't there in Atlanta, with his nineteen games coming in at .277/.314/.308 with only two extra base hits and two walks to thirteen strikeouts. 

But back to the defense - Ron Washington genuinely believes it's going to get there: 

“I feel real good about Griss,” Washington said. “All it is, is gaining experience. He was trying to learn how to play shortstop in the big leagues. He wasn’t learning how to play shortstop in the minor leagues. And learning how to play shortstop in the big leagues is night and day from playing shortstop in the minor leagues. There’s so much that goes on out there when you’re in the middle of that field that you have to be involved in. So he had a lot on his plate. But he’s gained a lot, too. You may not see it right now, but he’s gained a lot from spring training to now. And now he’s gonna get a chance to apply it.”

And Vaughn Grissom's going to put in the work. After all, Ron Washington told him the trick to not getting optioned down to the minors: 

"If you don't like it, play better." 

Vaughn Grissom shares Ron Washington's message to him:

"Wherever they put you, you just gotta go take care of business. At the end of the day, if you don't like it, play better. I just gotta go take care of my business and try to get back." pic.twitter.com/W2VwlLXWdH

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) March 29, 2023

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