The Red Sox are reportedly talking to the Rays about Christian Vazquez.
If the New York Yankees‘ seven-game slide wasn’t enough to make you spit out your Saturday morning coffee, this latest MLB trade rumor should do the trick.
Now it seems two of the Yankees’ biggest rivals are going to funnel talent to one another and just make life a living hell for New York. That sounds about right.
According to the latest buzz, the Tampa Bay Rays are in “early trade talks” with the Red Sox regarding catcher Christian Vazquez — the guy who called out the Yankees after being used as a mop/doormat combo in the seven games Boston lost in the Bronx.
"“The last-place Red Sox are another rare team that could be ripe for buyers,” Eno Sarris and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reported. “The Rays have interest in Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez, with early discussions centering around Tampa’s pitching prospects.”"
This should send Yankees fans over the edge. So the Red Sox, who are clearly throwing 2020 into the garbage chute, are now looking to trade with a division rival and move one of their most consistent players? Ah, it sure helps that Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom, who worked in the Rays front office for years, is going to be making a deal with his old friends.
Not only that, but Boston could potentially improve its future pitching prospects with Tampa’s endless pipeline of talent? Awesome.
To be honest, this wouldn’t be an outrage if Vazquez wasn’t under team control at a friendly rate through 2022.
The only way this is defensible is because the Sox have Connor Wong, who they acquired in the Mookie Betts trade with the Dodgers, waiting in the minors. However, he’s yet to make it past Double-A, so it’s unclear when he’ll even crack the major league roster.
Boston needs pitching, that’s no secret, but there are 27 other teams to do business with. Instead, the Red Sox know they won’t contend for the next 2-3 seasons given they’ve torn down a perfectly capable roster, and now they’re going to strengthen the Rays so Tampa can better compete with the Yankees for the foreseeable future.
It’s truly maddening, and if this deal ends up happening, the Yankees better make sure they have a blockbuster trade lined up to cancel it out.
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