Winter Meetings may be over, but the Boston Red Sox aren't finished making moves. The team announced Sunday that it traded infielder Enmanuel Valdez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed relief prospect Joe Vogatsky.
The Red Sox finally cut ties with Valdez after designating him for assignment this week after three seasons in the organization. Boston originally acquired him in 2022 in a trade with the Houston Astros along with Wilyer Abreu. Valdez appeared in 125 games for Boston over the last two seasons. Over that span, he hit 12 home runs, drove in 47 runs, and slashed .235/.286/.400.
Red Sox trade Enmanuel Valdez to Pirates for reliever Joe Vogatsky
Valdez, who was part of a rotating cast of players for the Red Sox at second base this past season, figures to enter a similar situation in Pittsburgh, where he joins Nick Gonzales and former Red Sox first-round pick Nick Yorke in a crowded field at the keystone. He is, however, the only left-handed bat out of the three, which could suit him well for a platoon situation in Pittsburgh.
In return for Valdez, the Red Sox acquired a right-handed reliever in Vogatsky. He was selected by the Pirates in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of James Madison University, where he had a 3.49 ERA atnd 48-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 49 innings pitched over 27 appearances in 2024.
Garrett Crochet felt 'relief' upon being traded from White Sox to Red Sox
The Red Sox got their ace last week in a trade with the Chicago White Sox for coveted left-hander Garrett Crochet. The 25-year-old, who had been at the center of trade rumors since the July trade deadline, seems equally as eager to join the Red Sox as they are to have him.
“There was definitely a lot of relief when it finally came to fruition,” Crochet said in a media availability via Zoom after the trade (via Ian Browne of MLB.com). "A lot of people might view the trade as adding some chaos into your life, but for me, it felt like all the chaos was stripped away to just worrying about it for months on end, knowing that it's kind of the writing on the wall. It's nice ... just being able to put it behind me and forward to the season.”
Crochet went on to say that playing for Boston is "as great of an opportunity as you can come by in this game," and the magnitude of that opportunity is not lost on him. In fact, Crochet has already gotten a reminder of the legends who have preceded him in Boston; he has already had to give up his No. 45, which he wore in Chicago, as the Red Sox retired No. 45 shortly after the legendary Pedro Martinez was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. Crochet will wear No. 35 for the Red Sox.
“I think that having any sort of conversation with Pedro would be my ideal world,” Crochet said (via Browne), “I'm kind of going in with low expectations, hoping to bump into guys when I can. But other than that, when I get into Spring Training, I intend on just having my head down and working hard.”
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