The Boston Red Sox have officially demoted Vaughn Grissom to Triple-A Worcester, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. This comes as little surprise considering Grissom’s 6-for-34 performance during spring training following what turned out to be a miserable 2024 campaign.

Grissom being sent down gives the Red Sox a bit more clarity regarding who their Opening Day second baseman will be. Grissom figured to have a chance, albeit a small one, especially given the fact that the team traded Chris Sale for him in the winter of 2023. But now, he’s officially out of the running.

With no Grissom in the picture, the Red Sox might have just created the most exciting roster battle any team will have in spring training for their second-base vacancy. There’s a good chance this spot will be handed to one of Kristian Campbell, MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 overall prospect, or Marcelo Mayer, MLB Pipeline’s No. 12 overall prospect.

Vaughn Grissom demotion sets up Kristian Campbell vs. Marcelo Mayer Red Sox second base battle

This decision is a complicated one. Mayer has looked excellent in spring training, recording 11 hits in 31 at-bats (.355 batting average) with two triple, one home run, and 10 RBI. He ripped a triple in Wednesday’s game against Tigers righty Casey Mize, a pitcher who has excelled this spring.

Campbell, on the other hand, has struggled this spring, going 6-for-38 with 15 strikeouts. He has as many extra-base hits as Mayer has triples this spring, and has not hit a home run yet. If the Red Sox were basing their decision solely off of spring training production, Mayer would be handed the spot without a second thought.

Clearly, with Campbell still with the MLB team, there’s more that goes into this decision. Campbell has struggled this spring but is coming off an absurdly dominant 2024 campaign in which he made a jump from High-A to Triple-A. He only played in 19 games at the highest Minor League level, but had a .898 OPS in his 85 plate appearances for Worcester.

Campbell might not have much Triple-A experience, but Mayer has not suited up a single time at that level. Sure, Mayer has excelled in spring training, but are the Red Sox comfortable with him making a jump from Double-A to the Majors when they have Campbell, another top prospect in their organization who has Triple-A experience under his belt?

Of course, Craig Breslow could make the decision nobody wants and make David Hamilton the team’s second baseman, but given his low offensive ceiling, he’s better served as a utility infielder. The team’s second baseman should have always come down to one of Campbell or Mayer, and with Grissom officially out of the way, it very well might.