Nick Yorke was poised to be the Red Sox’s second baseman of the future as he worked his way through the club’s minor league system.
Now, there might not be an opportunity at the position for the 21-year-old in Boston.
Vaughn Grissom, acquired by the Red Sox in their offseason Chris Sale trade with the Atlanta Braves, is in line to be Boston’s everyday second baseman. And if Grissom lives up to his potential at Fenway Park, Craig Breslow and company likely will be keen on keeping the 23-year-old with the organization for the long term.
But Yorke, the 17th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, clearly isn’t viewing Grissom as an impediment to success.
“To me, it’s been cool,” Yorke told MassLive on Tuesday. “Vaughn’s a good buddy of mine. I got to play against him a lot in High A. We get along. We’re really good friends. To me, it’s just cool to have someone that young in the position that he’s in because he’s a lot more relatable to me than some older veteran. But someone like Vaughn, he’s super approachable and I’m good friends with him. So in terms of the learning aspect of it — from someone who is kind of my age and has already been in the big leagues — to me, it’s just cool to be able to work with someone like that. I think it could only help me.”
Yorke’s team-first attitude also helps the situation. Listed at No. 6 on MLB.com’s Red Sox prospect power ranking, Yorke “couldn’t care less” where he plays on the field and only is focused on making contributions any way he can at the big league level. The Newport Beach, Calif., native also isn’t short of confidence.
“I’m a big believer that my best is better than anyone’s best,” Yorke told MassLive. “So if I do what I’ve got to do and no matter who’s there, it doesn’t really affect me.”
Extra depth ultimately is a good problem for the Red Sox to have. And with Yorke, Grissom and top prospect Marcelo Mayer in the fold, Boston is in a good spot with its middle infield moving forward.
