Its a shame things ended the way they did for Valdez. He was the original centerpiece of the trade that sent Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros for Valdez and Wilyer Abreu. Valdez hit 22 home runs and drove in 77 runs for AA and AAA before hitting 7 dingers with 30 rbis for Worcester to end the 2022 season. He played 49 games for the 2023 Boston Red Sox but managed to hit just six home runs. Last year he hit just 6 home runs in 76 games while hitting .214. Clearly he was flaming out so Sox GM Craig Breslow is cutting his losses.
So who the hell is Joe Vogatsky? He was James Madison University's set-up man in 2023 and 2024 recording 14 saves combined. The concerning factor was his 3.49 ERA his senior season which dropped his draft stock. He was taken in the 19th round by the Pirates just three picks before the Sox took D'Angelo "Little Papi" Ortiz. He didn't pitch to end 2024 so he most likely will start the 2025 season in the Florida Complex or Salem. Amazing how Breslow took almost all pitchers in the 2024 draft and just got another one.
In other news, the trade with the New York Yankees for backup catcher Carlos Narvaez made Danny Jansen expendable. Jansen signed with Tampa Bay so he's gone too. Looks like it will be Connor Wong/Narvaez to start 2025 with only Nathan Hickey in AAA in case someone gets hurt.
Corbin Burnes remains un-signed as well as Teoscar Hernandez and Alex Bregman. If the Sox can get Burnes and just one of the two available bats, they'd be instant contenders for the AL East title. John Henry's cheapness cost them the last four years, its time he spends money to win.
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