HOUSTON -- In a flurry of moves an hour before gametime Monday -- and 24 hours before MLB's annual trade deadline -- the Red Sox shook up their roster with three trades that had them both buying and selling pieces in the midst of a disappointing season, but leaving the roster upended and unfinished with two months of the regular season remaining.
In the most noteworthy deal of all, the team sent catcher Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros for two prospects.
The Sox also acquired outfielder Tommy Pham from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for a player to be named later.
Finally, the Sox shipped lefty reliever Jake Diekman to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Reese McGuire and a player to be named later.
In a Zoom call with reporters mid-game Monday night, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom acknowledged the moves left the Sox a bit jumbled when it comes to roster construction.
"The picture is incomplete,'' conceded Bloom, who emphasized that his primary goal remained getting the team to the postseason this fall.
In surreal fashion, the news of the Vazquez trade broke as he was on the field taking batting practice with his Red Sox teammates. Vazquez, who appeared stunned by the move, jogged out to shortstop and spoke with perhaps his closest friend on the team, Xander Bogaerts.
As Vazquez came off the field, he was asked to confirm reports that he had been dealt to the team against whom his former team would be playing.
"I think so,'' he said. Then, noting the odd timing of the deal, he added with a shrug: "It's a business."
Minutes later, J.D. Martinez exited the batting cage and before leaving the field, provided his own commentary on the bizarre circumstances.
"We were like, he just sat through all our hitters' meetings and now he's going over there to catch against us,'' said Martinez, himself the subject of trade rumors.
Vazquez was the longest-tenured member of the organization, having been drafted in 2008 while making his debut in 2014. Vazquez was part of the 2018 championship team and recently moved into fifth place all-time in games caught in franchise history for the Sox.
He was also a popular player with his teammates.
"This is one that I know hurts in the clubhouse,'' Bloom said. "Very aware of that. That's something we don't take lightly with these guys busting their tails out there as we speak. Moving him is going to impact this club. We're aware of that. We're trying to help the club. We still want to make the postseason.''
A strong-armed catcher who was given to fluctuating performance at the plate, Vazquez was having a decent season, with free agency fast approaching. It's always possible that the Red Sox could attempt to re-sign him this winter. But the organization had signaled a willingness to move on from him last winter when it attempted to trade for Pittsburgh's Jacob Stallings, only to come up short.
It may be that Vazquez, who has repeatedly expressed a desire to remain with the Sox for his entire career, is gone for good.
The return for Vazquez appeared, at first blush, to be underwhelming. The Red Sox acquired infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu. Baseball America ranked Valdez No. 12 in Houston's system, with Abreu at No. 21. MLBPipeline has Valdez at No. 28 and Abreu No. 29.
Both players were said to take significant steps in the minors this year.
"The players we got are players we're excited about,'' noted Bloom on Valdez and Abreu. "They're fast-risers, really good hitters.''
But one MLB executive said of the deal: "I think they could have made a better deal (in exchange for Vazquez).''
The departure of Vazquez leaves the Red Sox without an obvious No. 1 catcher going forward. Kevin Plawecki, who was Vazquez's backup, is also eligible for free agency at the end of the year and is unlikely to be re-signed.
McGuire, 27, is a former first-round pick who will now be playing for his fourth organization. He's thought to be solid defensively, but with a career OPS of .646, is something of an offensive liability.
"He's leveled off as a depth defender,'' noted one longtime evaluator. "His defense will play, but he's not in the same league as Vazquez.''
The Sox have some catching prospects at Triple A in Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez, but both project as backups in the big leagues at best.
Finally, the Sox will send either a player to be named later or cash for Pham, who achieved notoriety earlier this season when he slapped Giants outfielder Joc Pederson in the face in a dispute over some fantasy football rules, sparking a bench-clearing brawl between the Reds and Giants.
Pham, 34, is eligible for free agency this fall and has to be considered purely a rental. In 91 games with the Reds, his slash line was .238/.320/.374 with 11 homers and 39 RBI. Pham used to run well, stealing 25 bases as recently as 2019, but has just seven steals.
He could provide the Sox with a righty bat and perhaps even a leadoff option for the final two months.
With all the moves, there is still most of Tuesday to do more and Bloom sounded like a man who expected more activity. He could still move J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and others before the deadline.
"I don't know yet what is to come,'' he said. "There's a lot of different possibilities...I don't think we've seen the end of the story here.''