At 52-52, the Red Sox are in the good-not-great void which left them in an interesting position at MLB’s Aug. 2 trade deadline. Boston entered Tuesday in last place of the loaded American League East and 3.0 games back of the third and final Wild Card spot.
The middle ground between being in the playoff picture but not a top World Series contender (currently +6000 to win the World Series on WynnBET) led to the Red Sox making a series of trades as both deadline sellers and low-risk buyers.
Let’s run through them all.
Red Sox Acquire Outfielder Tommy Pham from Reds
It cost Boston a mere player to be named later and cash considerations in exchange for Pham. The veteran is hitting .238 with 11 homers in 91 games this season. Pham will join Boston’s outfield platoon headlined by Alex Verdugo and Jackie Bradley Jr.
Red Sox Send Catcher Christian Vazquez to Astros
This was Boston’s biggest move as a seller, trading away its starting catcher for a pair of prospects. Vazquez is hitting a respectable .282 this season with eight home runs. The Red Sox received a pair of 23-year-old minor league bats, infielder Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu.
Valdez jumped up to the Astros No. 12 prospect after a breakout season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .327. Abreu was Houston’s No. 21 prospect.
Red Sox Acquire Catcher Reese McGuire from White Sox
Boston needed another catcher after sending Vazquez to Houston. The cost for McGuire was reliever Jake Diekman. This move was a mere roster filler for the Red Sox, given the immense downgrade at the catcher position. McGuire is hitting a mere .225 with zero home runs through 53 games with Chicago this season.
Red Sox Acquire First Baseman Eric Hosmer from Padres
The Red Sox capitalized on this opportunistic move after Hosmer vetoed his involvement in the Juan Soto trade by exercising his partial no-trade clause. Now he’s been rerouted to Boston, where he will become the Red Sox primary first baseman. It has been reported that San Diego will pay for a majority of the $44 million left on Hosmer’s contract that lasts through 2025.
Hosmer is hitting a respectable .272 with eight homers and 40 RBI this season. Still, the Padres understandably opted for Josh Bell (.301 with 14 homers and 57 RBI), who will come to San Diego in the Soto deal.
It hasn’t been reported yet what Boston had to give up to get Hosmer but one can assume it was a minimal price tag.
Conclusion
Overall the series of deals leaves Boston mostly status quo for 2022 with a slightly brighter outlook down the road with the acquisitions of Valdez and Abreu. The current roster took a big hit at catcher while significantly improving at first base, especially when you consider Hosmer’s four-time gold glove defense.
Boston might be able to hang around in the American League Wild Card race, but most Red Sox fans have probably accepted by now that this will not be their year.
