Follow Us
The Boston Red Sox dealt veteran catcher Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Vazquez, a 2018 World Series champion, has been the club's starting backstop for the past eight seasons. Needless to say, it was a pretty big change for the organization. They didn't wait long to find his potential replacement, though.
Shortly after completing deals for Vazquez and former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham, the Red Sox acquired catcher Reese McGuire from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for left-handed reliever Jake Diekman and a player to be named later, as reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
The Red Sox are trading LHP Jake Diekman to the White Sox for C Reese McGuire and a PTBNL, per source. @JesseRogersESPN and @ByRobertMurray were on it.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) August 1, 2022
Reese McGuire, a five-year veteran, has posted a .646 OPS in 566 career plate appearances. The former White Sox backstop rated as a decent pitch-framer in 2021, per Statcast, though he has taken a bit of a step back in that category this year.
The 27-year-old figures to step right in and split the catching duties with veteran Kevin Plawecki. As for the White Sox, they address arguably their biggest need, the bullpen, bringing in Diekman ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
The left-hander has pitched to a 4.23 ERA but was a big-time strikeout pitcher for the Red Sox this year, fanning 51 batters in 38 1/3 innings pitched. Diekman should help solidify the back end of the Chicago bullpen, which has been decimated by injuries.
The likes of Joe Kelly, Reynaldo Lopez, Aaron Bummer and Kyle Crick are all sidelined with injuries. Both the White Sox and Red Sox are hovering on the edge of contention.
That made them interesting trade partners on Monday evening.