The Boston Red Sox on Dec. 15 traded infielder Enmanuel Valdez to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for reliever Joe Vogatsky.
Valdez, who turns 26 on Dec. 28, had been with the Red Sox organization for three seasons and made his major league debut with the team in 2023. Vogatsky is a 19th-round pick out of the 2024 MLB Draft and has yet to appear in a professional game.
Valdez came to Boston in 2022 as part of Chaim Bloom's trade of Christian Vázquez with the Astros. Now that one of the Sox's two returns from that deal has been traded away, let's reevaluate the exchange to see how well it served Boston a few years down the road.
Hours before the 2022 trade deadline, Boston and Houston happened to be playing each other at Minute Maid Park. After Vázquez was traded, he walked to the home team dugout to become an Astro after he spent the first seven and a half seasons of his career with the Red Sox.
Reevaluating the 2022 Christian Vázquez trade after the Red Sox dealt Enmanuel Valdez to the Pirates
Vázquez had a solid season in Boston before he was dished to Houston. He slashed .282/.327/.432 with a .759 OPS over 84 games with the Sox before the trade. In the campaign's second half, he batted .250/.278/.308 with a .585 OPS over 35 appearances as a platoon option with Martín Maldonado.
In exchange for trading Vázquez to Houston, the Red Sox got two prospects, Valdez and recent Gold Glove winner Wilyer Abreu. Valdez was initially perceived as the biggest prize of the deal due to his lefty power, but his short time in the major leagues has fallen short of Abreu's tenure.
Valdez showed promise in his first season with the Sox in 2023. He slashed .266/.311/.453 with six homers over 49 games. His offensive production dipped in 2024 and his defense became problematic. Valdez slashed .214/.270/.363 over 76 games.
Defense was never billed as Valdez's strong suit, but his time as one of Boston's many second basemen was marked by frustration and inconsistency. He posted -9 outs above average and six errors over 65 appearances at second base.
Abreu's tenure has worked out much better for Boston. He slashed .253/.322/.459 with a .781 OPS and highlight-reel defense over 132 games.
Overall, the Vázquez trade has served the Red Sox well. The team secured a return for an aging player and impending free agent who hasn't posted the same level of offensive production he had in the Red Sox organization. Abreu was a staple of Boston's lineup last year and his 91st-percentile defense was a huge part of its outfield being as elite as it was after Ceddanne Rafaela was forced to spend much of his playing time at shortstop.
Vogatsky doesn't have any professional innings under his belt yet, so it'll be difficult to truly evaluate Boston's trade of Valdez to the Pirates until he pitches for a while. The righty posted a 5.24 ERA over his four seasons at James Madison University, but his career began as a starter, which didn't work well. Vogatsky succeeded as a reliever in 2023-24 when he pitched to a 3.34 and 3.49 ERA in those seasons, respectively.
Valdez was possibly the Red Sox's worst second baseman last season and flipping him for much-needed bullpen depth seems like a solid move, even before Vogatsky has pitched in the minor leagues.