*Photo from the Boston Globe*
Needing an upgrade at catcher, the Houston Astros did what they had to do. The Astros have acquired C Christian Vazquez from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for 3B Enmanuel Valdez and OF Wilyer Abreu, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The current duo of catchers in Houston, Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro, are both defensively adept, but both have been scuffling with the bat this season. Maldonado is hitting .173 entering August, and Castro is hitting just .115 as well. Enter Vazquez, who is strong defensively, but is also a clear upgrade hitting wise.
So far this season, Vazquez has a .282 batting average with a .759 OPS, slugging .432 and hitting 8 home runs to go with 42 RBI's, adding one stolen base and a .327 on base percentage in 84 games for the Red Sox, adding 20 doubles.
In his career, spanning 8 seasons with the Red Sox, Vazquez has a .262 batting average with a .700 OPS, hitting 54 home runs with 266 RBI's in 698 regular season games. Vazquez has a .253 batting average with a .651 OPS, hitting two home runs with 8 RBI's in 25 career playoff games, having won the World Series in 2018 with the Red Sox.
One part of the return for the Red Sox is Valdez, who is the 28th ranked prospect in the Astros system, according to MLB Pipeline. With Double A Corpus Christi and Triple A Sugar Land this season, Valdez has a .327 batting average with a .606 OPS, hitting 21 home runs and 77 RBI's, stealing 5 bases in 82 games, 44 of which have been at Triple A after being promoted.
The other part of the return for the Red Sox is Abreu, the 29th ranked prospect in the Astros system. With Corpus Christi this season, Abreu has a .249 batting average with a .858 OPS, hitting 15 home runs to go with 54 RBI's, stealing 23 bases in 89 games.
The trade for Vazquez gives the Astros an offensive upgrade at catcher, and another deadline move after acquiring Trey Mancini from the Orioles. The Red Sox get two highly rated prospects to boost what is already a top 10 farm system, and prospects who might make an impact in the majors soon.
Comments
Post a Comment