Boston Red Sox second baseman Vaughn Grissom is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day after suffering a left groin strain, manager Alex Cora told reporters Saturday.
Cora said Grissom was injured taking ground balls earlier in the week ahead of what was supposed to be his spring training debut Saturday.
Grissom, 23, joined the Red Sox in the December trade that sent Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves. Grissom had made his big league debut in 2022 after just 22 games above Class A and hit .291 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 41 games.
After losing out on the Braves' shortstop job to start 2023, Grissom spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he hit .330/.419/.501 playing mostly shortstop. In 22 major league games, he hit .280/.313/.347 but struggled defensively at shortstop.
Grissom had entered spring training as the front-runner to start at second base for the Red Sox, with Cora saying last month they were hoping he would "run away with the position."