Red Sox and Pirates make second trade in five months; recently DFA’d infielder involved in the deal
The Red Sox made a small trade with the Pirates on Sunday.
Boston sent infielder Enmanuel Valdez to Pittsburgh for pitching prospect Joe Vogatsky. Valdez was designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for new catcher Carlos Narvaez on the 40-man roster, who the Red Sox acquired from the Yankees.
Vogatsky, 22, was a 19th-round pick by the Pirates last July out of James Madison University. Over his final two seasons at JMU, the Warrenton, Va. native combined to go 7-3 with 14 saves and a 3.43 ERA. He struck out 84 in 78 2/3 frames, according to his school’s player profile.
Valdez joined the Sox’ organization following a 2022 trade that sent him and Wilyer Abreu to the Astros for catcher Christian Vazquez. At the time of the deal, Valdez was the Astros 12th-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America.
Over his first two seasons with the Red Sox, Valdez has hit .235 with 12 homers, 47 RBI, and six stolen bases, and a .687 OPS. He played in 76 games for Boston last season, slashing .214/.270/.363 (.633 OPS) with six home runs and 28 RBI.
This is the second trade the two clubs made in the last five months. Boston and Pittsburgh were involved in a deal before the trade deadline that sent Quinn Priester to the Red Sox and Nick Yorke to the Pirates.
