Vaughn Grissom, Braden Shewmake in battle for shortstop job

Perhaps this battle is closer than first thought.

• By means of
  
  Chris Willis
  

• on March 18, 2023 4:48 PM

There’s just over a week left in the Grapefruit League season and several spots still up for grabs. Vaughn Grissom came in as the odds-on favorite to be the opening day shortstop in the spring and was thought to be competing with Orlando Arcia. 2019 first-round pick Braden Shewmake is apparently making a late push. Shewmake has seen a lot of playtime lately and has held his own. Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman on Saturday that it will likely be one of Grissom or Shewmake moving north with the club.

It’s an interesting development considering that Grissom has played well this spring, going 9-for-28 at the plate with two doubles. He hasn’t been flashy defensively, but made the plays he needed to make.

Shewmake is a better defensive shortstop, going 9-for-27 at the plate with two doubles and a triple. However, he has struggled offensively at the senior levels of the minors, posting an 84 wRC+ in 83 games in Mississippi and an 89 wRC+ in 76 games in Gwinnett last season.

After being absent from the lineup for three consecutive days, Grissom will serve as the DH on Saturday. If the Braves are concerned about Grissom’s defense behind the scenes, then this development makes more sense. However, that would contradict everything they’ve said publicly about Grissom’s progress in the defensive period from the off-season.

Just another subplot to watch during the last days of spring training.

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