Vaughn Grissom’s season with the Los Angeles Angels left him in an awkward place: good enough to matter, but not settled anywhere on the field.
The Angels picked him up in a minor deal with the Boston Red Sox before the season, and that move ended up giving Grissom a real chance to reset his career. Boston was eager to move on from him, and he had become a loud reminder of the failed Chris Sale trade after the Red Sox sent Sale to Atlanta and then watched the left-hander sputter in Boston.
Once Grissom arrived, the Angels kept trying to find the right fit. He got looks at second and third, but neither spot really worked out. He does not have the range for second or the arm for third, so the club eventually settled him in more of a floating role, with some first-base duty when Nolan Schanuel got hurt and occasional time at DH, plus a few appearances around the infield.
The glove never looked clean, but the bat gave him a reason to stay around. He was not built to hit cleanup for the Angels, and that assignment was badly mismatched, but he still had a few games where his power showed up in a real way.
That leaves the bigger question: where does he fit next?
Right now, nobody really knows. Grissom has done enough to earn a roster spot, especially on a team like the Angels, and he helped revive a career that looked essentially finished when they acquired him. At the same time, there is not enough here yet to lock him into any one role.
He still has work to do offensively, too. His approach needs refinement, and he remains a hitter who lives on mistakes while also piling up strikeouts. That said, MLB has plenty of players who succeed doing exactly that.
For now, Grissom is stuck in limbo. His future will depend on whoever Stan Kroenke and his ownership group choose to guide the Angels going forward, and that could include interim GM John Mozeliak and manager Kurt Suzuki - or it might not, based on what has been reported and relayed so far.
That is a rough spot for any player to be in. If Mozeliak stays and keeps Suzuki, Grissom likely stays too.
If not, he could be out in the wind. Either way, he at least made one thing clear this season: he is a big-league player.
In Other News...
Angels Could Pounce On A Red Sox Outfield Opportunity
With the offseason expected to get messy because of the looming lockout and the Angels in the middle of an ownership transition, this is exactly the kind of market where a club can try to get ahead of everyone else. Boston outfielder Jarren Duran has emerged as a possible name to watch, with the Red Sox weighing whether arbitration costs make him too expensive to keep after a rough 2026 season.
For the Angels, the appeal is obvious: Duran still has the kind of upside that could make him a useful fit if he lands in the right situation. A change of scenery could help him reset, and if Boston moves on, Los Angeles could be positioned to pounce on an outfield opportunity that might not look as obvious to everyone else at first glance. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Still Have A Third Base Problem Before Their Future Arrives
Third base has been a revolving door for the Angels for a long time, dating back to the days when Troy Glaus and Chone Figgins defined the position and later when David Freese provided a steadier answer. Since then, the club has been searching for a reliable everyday fit, and the current options have not given it much reason to stop looking. Yoan Moncada and Denzer Guzman have both struggled to provide the kind of production that settles a spot for the long haul.
Edmundo Sosa at least gives the Angels a short-term path because his defensive ability and positional flexibility make him useful almost anywhere in the infield. Still, the bigger question is when a more permanent solution arrives, and that is where Jake Munroe enters the picture. Munroe has impressed in the minors and in the Arizona Fall League, giving the Angels a prospect worth watching as they wait for a future answer to a spot that has been unsettled for far too long. [Read more 🡒]
Angels May Have Found Another Power Arm With One Big Catch
The Angels added another big-bodied arm to the pipeline with second-round pick Chase Shores out of LSU, a reliever whose frame alone turns heads. At 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, Shores brings the kind of raw power clubs dream on, with a fastball that already sits in the 95-97 mph range and a slider-changeup mix that gives him a chance to become more than just a novelty arm.
Baseball Americas scouting report pointed to both the appeal and the unfinished nature of the pick, which is usually what makes these selections so intriguing. The velocity and movement are there, and the fit in the Angels bullpen picture is easy to imagine, but the bigger question is how far the organization can take that talent as Shores keeps developing. [Read more 🡒]