When the Red Sox traded Christian Vázquez to the Houston Astros at last summer’s trade deadline, they said goodbye to their longest-tenured player.
Xander Bogaerts had debuted first, in August 2013, but signed as an amateur free agent in 2009, the year after the Red Sox selected Vázquez in the ninth round of the 2008 draft. (Vázquez debuted in July 2014.)
Losing Vázquez was difficult for the team and its manager, especially since the Red Sox were in Houston for a series with the Astros at the time.
“Special person, you know? And special player,” Alex Cora said of his former catcher. “When he signed here, he went through every step, from going to the academy, to winning a World Series with us.”
Vázquez said it was weird to be in the visiting dugout on Tuesday afternoon.
“A lot of emotions,” he said as he sat in his new team’s uniform and cap. “Good to be loved here, that means a lot.”
The Twins and Red Sox play one another frequently in spring training, but Vázquez says “it’s not the same,” because the energy is different down in Fort Myers. This was his first game in Boston since he called it home, and he admitted that he still doesn’t exactly understand the events of last summer.
“I love everybody over there (at the Red Sox), but … after the trade, I was the only guy that gets traded there (at the deadline), and it was like, why’d you trade me, you know? Why?”
It was a puzzling trade deadline for Boston. They were neither complete buyers, nor were they total sellers. Vázquez was one of several longtime players set to reach free agency, so it was surprising when he was the only one dealt away.
But the veteran catcher rolled into town as the ex who’s definitely winning the breakup. Since the trade, he made World Series history, catching the first combined no-hitter, and won a ring with the Astros. In the offseason, he signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. Meanwhile, the Red Sox finished 2022 at the bottom of their division and entered the series under .500.
Cora was effusive in his praise on Tuesday afternoon.
“(Vázquez) was huge for us in 2018. I still remember, going into Game 3 (of the World Series), it was (Rick) Porcello, and he didn’t catch Porcello the whole season, and we needed offense, that was the bottom line,” he recalled. “Played first base in the World Series, this guy, he can do it all. I still remember him playing second base in 2019, when (Dustin Pedroia) was kind of like, banged up right away.”
He also hit a walk-off home run to give the Red Sox a win after 13 innings in Game 3 of the 2021 ALDS.
“He’ll give his best,” Cora continued. “The most talented? No, and he’s the first one to admit that, but one of the, I want to say, of all the guys I have been able to coach, kind of like, investing in himself, you know?”
The bond between the manager and his former catcher runs deeper than the team they once shared. They’re both from Puerto Rico, Cora’s longtime partner, Angelica, is close with Vázquez’s wife, Gaby, and their sons are playmates. But Cora says his friendship with Vázquez is stronger now that they’re not in the same organization.
“Now, we’re closer. Christian never wanted to cross that line, you know? He respects me, he loves me outside the game, whatever, but here, he always tried to make sure people didn’t see it differently,” he said.
He also took the opportunity to clear up the misconception that Vázquez found out about the trade while on the field with his teammates.
“He knew he was getting traded before he went outside, it’s not that he didn’t know. He asked me, can I go out one more time? I was like, of course, you can go out,” Cora explained with a smile. “I just wanted him to go out there and enjoy one more time, and he actually did.”
When Vázquez became a free agent following the 2022 postseason, his name floated around the Red Sox rumor mill, but nothing came of it. Does Cora wish things were different? Definitely, maybe.
“You can see him developing into this catcher, the catcher that he is. Just watching video of him, it’s not that I took him for granted, but you see him now? Like woof, you know, there’s a lot of good things that this guy can do. He’s becoming a leader. He’s learned a lot.”
“I’m so proud of him,” he said.
James Paxton is scheduled to throw five innings with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, but with a twist. He’ll follow an opener, something he’s never done before.
Even without Paxton, Red Sox are in the odd position of having an abundance of starting pitching options. They activated Brayan Bello this week, but are still starting Tanner Houck (slated to have a bullpen role to start the season) on Thursday, making it a six-man rotation, if only temporarily.
What will they do when Paxton is ready, too? With Zack Kelly on the 60-day injured list and Chris Martin on the 15-day, the Red Sox bullpen is wearing thin. But in nine years in the majors, Paxton only ever worked as a starter: 137 career regular-season starts with a 3.59 ERA and 1.212 WHIP, plus three postseason starts for the Yankees in 2019.
Houck has been one of the team’s most solid starters thus far. Do the Red Sox want to give that up by moving him to the bullpen? In three starts totaling 14 innings, he’s allowed seven earned runs, walked seven, and struck out 15. The Red Sox have won each of his games, and he was credited with the win in the first two.
Having Paxton work with an opener gives the team a chance to see how he fares in a new situation. Perhaps they’ll piggyback Houck and Paxton, having each pitch three or four innings in the same game.
At this point, the Red Sox probably won’t rule anything out.