Was the Houston Astros' Trade for Vázquez Worth It?

Nearly three weeks past MLB's trade deadline, was the Houston Astros' trade for Christian Vázquez a good one?

Ben Silver | Aug 18, 2022

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Houston Astros

Who are Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez? You probably hadn't heard of them until Aug. 1, when the Houston Astros traded them to the Boston Red Sox for catcher Christian Vázquez. It would be understandable if their names were quickly forgotten after that.

Abreu and Valdez, however, both have a chance to go and become solid big league players, especially if their 2022 minor league statistics have anything to say about their quality.

That begs the question: why trade two potential future stars for a player like Vázquez, who has seen limited playing time, and is only under contract through the end of 2022?

The shockingly simple reason: both Abreu and Valdez were going to be Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter, and neither would have made the Astros' 40-man roster. Unfortunately, giving them away so cheaply may have been a waste of talent.

Though neither were ranked highly in the Astros' top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline, both have had excellent 2022 seasons.

Lefty batter Enmanuel Valdez enters the #Astros' Top 30 Prospects list with J.J. Matijevic's graduation.

More on the 23-year-old, who has produced a 1.014 OPS this year: https://t.co/qld3dTGq11 pic.twitter.com/0JtdzBPMaE
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 30, 2022

Valdez, specifically, may be a diamond in the rough for the Red Sox. After a June promotion to Triple-A for the 23-year-old, he slashed .296/.347/.560 for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in 38 games.

Moving to Worcester, he's actually topped that line in his first 53 plate appearances there, at .256/.365/.558. For his total minor league season, Valdez has 25 home runs in 431 plate appearances.

That power will need to shine through, because Valdez is not a defense-first type player. Though he's logged most of his innings at second base in the minor leagues, it's hard to see him dethroning current Red Sox second baseman Trevor Story.

Valdez profiles more as a left fielder or third baseman, and despite his short stature at 5-foot-9, he's able to generate some real power and get on-base with consistency given his recognition of the strike zone.

If this was the only player the Astros traded for Vázquez, the deal could be considered a win for the Red Sox, but Houston also threw in a toolsy defense-first outfielder in Abreu.

Abreu doesn't have the illustrious hitting numbers of his trade counterpart Valdez, but he's found solid contact numbers after trading some power for contact in his swing after the pandemic.

Over 464 Double-A plate appearances in 2022, he's slashing .245/.394/.438. Standing out is Abreu's obscene walk-rate at 19.0%. It's a very advanced tool for such a young player in his age-22 season.

Defensively, Abreu can handle center field, but he might not be a Gold Glove defender. Despite his 6 ft., 217 lbs. frame, Abreu will probably save runs in center field instead of losing them.

Given the rising ceilings of these two prospects, it's especially disappointing to see how poorly Vázquez is playing. He does bring extra veteran leadership with his presence, and he's solid defensively, but the Astros probably could have gotten better value out of a different, cheaper backup catcher.

Valdez and Abreu could have gone into acquiring a bigger upgrade than Vázquez, or even been held onto until a better trade materialized in the offseason.

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Published Aug 18, 2022

BEN SILVER

Ben Silver is an editor for Inside the Astros. A graduate of Boston University, Ben formerly covered the Phillies for PhilliesNation.com. Follow him on Twittter @BenHSilver.