The Houston Astros continued their strength Monday by acquiring catcher Christian Vasquez of the Boston Red Sox. But who won the deal?
The day before the MLB trade deadline, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros were running the business. The Yankees managed to get the Oakland Athletics, starting with bowler Frankie Montas and loyalist Lou Trevino, for four players. The Astros managed to get their first policeman in the Baltimore Orioles Tree Mancini. But Houston is not over yet.
According to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Bassan, the Astros were finalizing a deal with the Boston Red Sox for catcher Christian Vasquez. USA Today’s Bob Nightingale later tweeted that Houston was serving 28th and 29th, companion man Emmanuel Valdez and defensive back Willer Abreu, respectively.
So, who won this trade between the two teams who just met in the ALCS last year?
commercial grade astros
The Astros build what seems like an inevitable – a postseason series against the Yankees. They managed to get Mancini, who was one of the first available base players before the deadline. Now, they’ve got Vazquez, who was one of the best anglers available behind Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs. Oh, and obviously he was from another AL East team at the Red Sox.
This season, Vazquez is spending one of his best seasons in the batting box. With 84 games going into August 1, Vazquez cut 0.2282/.327/.432 while scoring eight home runs, 42 RBI, and 83 hits.
Make no mistake about it, having one of the best catchers available is a win for the Astros. Even better, he has plenty of experience calling matches against the Yankees.
Grade: B +
Commercial grade Red Sox
Trading away from your starting mask is never perfect. But in Boston’s case, Vazquez was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Therefore, the Red Sox decided to get some of the proceeds for him. They received #28 and #29 in Houston.
Valdez started the season in Double-A, cutting .357/.463/.649 while scoring 11 home runs, 45 RBI, and 60 hits. Promoted to Triple-A, he was still holding the board, logging a hit average of 296, 906 OPS, 10 home runs, 32 RBI and 47 strokes.
Abreau spent the entire 2022 season with Double-A, cutting .249/.399/.459 while posting 15 home runs, 54 RBI, scoring 81 points, and 82 hits.
It looks like the Red Sox is receiving some quality opportunities in exchange for a hunter who was due to become a free agent this winter.
Grade: C +
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