After entering Monday’s nationally televised road game against the Astros as a foe, Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez didn’t need to travel far after receiving word of his involvement in a reported trade.
Multiple reports surfaced shortly after warm-ups detailing a move sending the eight-year veteran to the Astros for two, undisclosed minor league prospects. As the news continued to circulate, Vázquez, a 2018 World Series champion and Red Sox lifer, gave a clear impression that he was one of the last people to be notified of the deal.
When asked if he had, in fact, been traded to the Astros while standing outside the Red Sox dugout, Vázquez awkwardly told reporters, “I think so, yeah.” He was then asked how it felt to hear the news to which he replied, “It’s a business, it’s a business.”
Houston later announced the trade in the early going of Monday’s ESPN telecast, disclosing the team acquired Vázquez in exchange for minor league infielder Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu.
As is often the case every trade deadline, teams with playoff aspirations are not opposed to parting ways with a touted prospect or a respected vet if it means improving the team, or clearing cap space off the books.
In Vázquez’s case, the move comes nearly eight months after Boston exercised his club option for the 2022 season, adding an additional year to a three-year extension he signed in ’18. A ’08 ninth-round selection who debuted in ’14, Vázquez is slashing .282/.327/.432 with eight home runs and 42 RBI in 84 games played this season.
Both the Astros and Red Sox were also involved elsewhere in other notable deals ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline. Houston landed Vázquez shortly after swinging a three-team deal for Orioles slugger Trey Mancini while Boston quickly found a younger replacement for its longtime catcher in a reported trade for 25-year-old White Sox catcher Reese McGuire, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
