Red Sox

Xander Bogaerts says Christian Vázquez trade made him question direction of Red Sox

"I don't want to say it waves the white flag, but that's a big piece going out."

Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox reacts with Christian Vázquez. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

August 2, 2022

Count Xander Bogaerts among the people who aren’t certain why the Red Sox traded Christian Vázquez to the Astros on Monday, a day prior to the trade deadline.

Chaim Bloom sent the Red Sox’s longtime catcher to Houston in exchange for a pair of prospects — Baseball America’s No. 12 prospect in Houston’s system Enmanuel Valdez and No. 21 Wilson Abreyu — on Monday as he started the odd process of trying to both buy and sell at the trade deadline.

Valdez and Abreyu could offer good value down the road, but for Bogaerts — who was good friends with Vázquez and was the first person Vázquez approached when he found out about the trade — the loss of a starting catcher with big-game chops was a head-scratcher. A reporter asked Bogaerts on Tuesday whether Monday’s moves made him question the direction of the team.

“The one for Vázqy, I mean, if you ask me, yeah,” Bogaerts said. “No one saw that coming. You obviously saw a lot of stuff coming out, but it doesn’t kick in until it really happens. And obviously, Diekman obviously going to the White Sox, so that was two pieces going out and nothing coming in.”

Does he see it as waving the white flag?

“I don’t want to say it waves the white flag, but that’s a big piece going out before all of us expected or hoped someone was coming in,” Bogaerts said. “I don’t want to say in particular the white flag, but it was a big move. He was a big piece of the team, but it was at least trending that direction.”

For his part, Vázquez — who looked visibly crushed when he learned about the deal — made it clear he wanted to remain with the Red Sox for his entire career.

“I feel like this is my home,” he said in March. “Fifteen years here. So I would love to retire here. But if they don’t want it, they don’t want it. This is business. It’s part of the business. So let’s see what happens.”

Bogaerts can opt out of his contract and become a free agent after this year.