NEWSLETTER
Well this is pretty significant for the market. The Boston Red Sox are officially selling. And one of the catching alternatives to Willson Contreras did NOT go to the Mets or the Padres.
The Houston Astros had reportedly been out on Contreras anyway, so they instead pick up a bat in Trey Mancini, and now a glove in Christian Vazquez:
Vazquez, of course, was REPEATEDLY bandied about as the Mets’ other catching option out there. So, did the Astros jump the Mets? Or were the Mets always full of baloney and waiting for the Cubs on Contreras? (it’s that one)
Now the question is whether the Mets, in turn, jump to get DH JD Martinez from the Red Sox, who are in sell mode. That would certainly be one way to hedge against the Cubs not bending.
I would expect some aftershocks from this one, or, for us to learn that a lot was already happening behind the scenes, and that’s why this deal happened.
UPDATE: So Vazquez is in Houston right now, and he was on the field warming up when the trade went down. This is … awkward:
UPDATE 2: So, in addition to acquiring Tommy Pham from the Reds, the Red Sox are also acquiring catcher Reese McGuire from the White Sox:
I would bet almost anything that they are also trading JD Martinez, and they decided to try to have it both ways: sell Vazquez and Martinez, and soften the blow by stepping down to McGuire and Pham.
UPDATE 3: The return, and some quick thoughts:
