Grae Kessinger comes from Ole Miss baseball royalty and was a Rebel legend himself. He put together two great seasons in a Rebels uniform in 2018 and 2019, cementing himself in the history with his All-American campaign in the 2019 season. That year, he played stellar defense, hitting .330 for an OPS of over .900
Following the 2019 season, Kessinger elected to enter the MLB draft, where he was selected in the second round by the Houston Astros. He worked his way relatively quickly through the minor leagues, making his MLB debut in June 2023, becoming the third generation of Kessingerers to play in the show.
Grae never really caught out full-time with the Astros, appearing in only 26 games in 2023 and spending 2024 bouncing between AAA and the big league club. However, he failed to record a hit in the 2024 season at the major league level.
On Wednesday, January 8th, the Houston Astros traded Kessinger to the Arizona Diamondback in exchange for pitching prospect Matthew Linskey. The Astros designated him for assignment back in December.
Welcome to Arizona, Grae Kessinger! pic.twitter.com/i12v4o5Sof
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) January 8, 2025
Hopefully, this trade and the new organization will provide Grae with a better path to a more stable role in the bigs. We will continue to cheer him on. Hotty Toddy