Christian Vazquez is preparing for an astronomical change…
The Houston Astros have acquired the 31-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher from the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox received infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez and minor league outfielder Wilyer Abreu from the Astros in exchange for Vazquez.
Vazquez has a .759 OPS with 8 home runs and 42 RBIs this season and will provide an immediate upgrade over the Astros current starting catcher, Martin Maldonado.
Vazquez, who will be a free agent next season, had been with the Red Sox since 2014 and was the longest tenured player in the organization.
Valdez, 23, is batting .327 with a 1.016 OPS in 82 games for Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land. He is ranked as the Astros’ No. 12 prospect by Baseball America.
Abreu, 23, is batting .249 with a .858 OPS in 89 games with Corpus Christi. He is ranked as the Astros’ No. 21 prospect by Baseball America.