Major League Baseball had one of the more interesting trade deadlines in recent memory. With less than 24 hours to go, there were not many major trades made. It was believed that many teams were waiting to see how the Washington Nationals' Juan Soto situation was going to play out. He ended up being dealt to the San Diego Padres, alongside Josh Bell, making them World Series contenders. But everyone assumed that the Boston Red Sox would be sellers at the deadline.
After all, the Red Sox had watched as they fell from leading the American League Wild Card to falling into seventh for it. All of that happened in less than a month, as Boston finished July 8-19. Their last series win was in late June. But because there was such a jumble of teams fighting for wild card contention, some believed Boston would not be major sellers in the market. They were still just 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot as the deadline neared.
So, what were the Red Sox going to do? Were they going to build for the future, sell of J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Christian Vazquez? Or would they go the other way and buy in that they can make a run this year?
Well, as it turned out, they tried doing both. But it might have blown up in their face. Despite some of the moves they made, it was the move they didn't make that is the biggest surprise of the MLB trade deadline.
Red Sox 2022 Trade Deadline
IN
Eric Hosmer
Tommy Pham
Reese McGuire
Enmanuel Valdez
Wilyer Abreu
Max Ferguson
Corey Rosier
PTBNL or cash (White Sox)
Cash (Padres)OUT
Christian Vázquez
Jake Diekman
Jay Groome
PTBNL or cash (Reds)— Mike Monaco (@MikeMonaco_) August 2, 2022
Red Sox Biggest Trade Deadline Surprise
Not Trading JD Martinez
The Red Sox were active at the deadline, but they did not make the one move almost everyone anticipated. Instead, they opted to trade veteran catcher Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros. Vazquez was the longest tenured player for Boston. He had been a part of the organization since the Red Sox drafted him in 2008. He was a beloved player in the locker room and had emerged as a postseason hero when Boston won the 2018 World Series.
After that move, just about everyone figured that Boston was going to have a fire. J.D. Martinez had to be the next player traded, right?
After all, he is 33 years old and is a free agent after the season. If Boston was already unwilling to give him the type of contract extension he was looking for, it stands to reason that they would not re-sign him this offseason. His power is way down this year, with just nine home runs in 348 at-bats.
Instead, Boston made a couple moves that appeared to make it look like they were buyers after all. The Red Sox traded with the Cincinnati Reds for former All-Star Tommy Pham. Then they added long time veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer.
Considering how bad the Red Sox pitching is, it was very surprising to see them not throw in the towel. Boston has consistently been starting minor leaguers in their rotation. Partly due to injury, but also ineffectiveness from some of their pitchers.
The odds that they are going to jump six teams over the final eight weeks of the season is unlikely. As a die-hard Red Sox fan, I would have been sad to see Martinez go. But it made sense to move on. This team has a lot of holes to fill and could have begun that process. Instead, they kept Martinez and will watch him play his final two months and lose him for nothing after the season.
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