On a day when a three-team trade involving one of the game’s best young catchers went down between the A’s, Braves and Brewers, the Twins have reportedly secured their backstop situation by agreeing to a deal with veteran catcher Christian Vázquez. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to break the news, which is reportedly a three-year deal, per The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal.
Vázquez, 32, will replace Gary Sánchez, who was Minnesota’s primary catcher in 2022 and is also now a free agent. Vázquez appeared in 119 games last season with the Red Sox and Astros, batting .274/.315/.399 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs.
Vázquez enjoyed a breakout season with Boston in 2019, setting career highs in home runs (23), games played (138), runs scored (66) and RBIs (72). He was the team’s backup catcher in ’18, when he won his first World Series title.
The veteran was acquired by Houston at last year’s trade deadline, splitting time with Martín Maldonado at catcher. He was behind the plate for Game 4 of the World Series when four Astros pitchers combined to throw the second no-hitter in World Series history.
