Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom took some heat for what he did and didn't do at the Major League Baseball trade deadline but the moves he did make have worked out so far, especially the two involving catchers.
The Red Sox started their deadline activity by trading backstop Christian Vázquez to the Houston Astros in exchange for prospects Enmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu. Just hours later, Bloom traded reliever Jake Diekman for catcher Reese McGuire and cash.
Here's why those two moves improved the Red Sox organization in the present and especially for the future:
McGuire has outperformed Vázquez since the deadline
Both catchers have been on a tear with their new organizations but McGuire has had the edge. In 13 games with Houston, Vázquez has hit .371 (13 singles, no extra-base hits) with a .777 OPS and 126 OPS+ in 13 games. He's been exactly what the Astros needed after multiple seasons of basement-level offensive production from behind the dish.
McGuire has somehow been even better. The 27-year-old catcher is hitting .415 with a double, triple, .906 OPS and 153 OPS+ in 14 games. As expected, both players have been strong defensively.
The Red Sox added multiple pieces for the future
The moves would have been a fairly moot point if there was no positive outlook beyond 2022 but the Red Sox got plenty more out of the two deals.
For starters, the Astros had to give up two quality prospects to attain Vázquez. Bloom set an intentionally high price for his impending free agents, which is why Vázquez was the only player "sold" at the deadline. In total, the Red Sox added four prospects in the flurry of deadline transactions, the top two of which came from Houston.
In the latest MLB Pipeline prospect update, Valdez jumped to the No. 19 prospect in the system while Abreu rose to No. 24.
The other positive is that the Red Sox now have a proven MLB-caliber catcher next season. Both Vázquez and Kevin Plawecki are on expiring deals, meaning Boston entered August without a catcher tabbed to be on the roster in 2023.
McGuire is signed through 2025, alleviating some pressure to rebuild the entire catching depth from scratch. As if he wasn't a candidate to make the roster next season already, Connor Wong's month-long tear could push him into a platoon with McGuire next season. Ronaldo Hernandez is an intriguing depth piece as well but having McGuire signed long term eliminates the potential of rolling out two rookie catchers next season.
Bloom found a way to get out from under a bad contract
Diekman was a fascinating acquisition due to his blazing fastball and wipeout slider but his tenure in Boston was headed down a slippery slope. Somehow, Bloom convinced the Chicago White Sox brass to give up three and a half seasons of McGuire for Diekman, and then got them to pay out the southpaw's entire contract.
Diekman agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal in the offseason, which is now completely off the Red Sox's books. A few million next season would not have greatly hampered Boston but some added financial flexibility helps.
Diekman is already 35 years old and has posted a 4.70 ERA in 7 2/3 innings with two losses and four holds since joining the White Sox. It's hard to imagine Boston regretting giving up on the veteran at this stage in his career.
