Report: Padres’ pursuit of Vazquez ‘intensified’ after Bogaerts signing originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Xander Bogaerts could be reunited with one of his former Boston Red Sox teammates in San Diego.
The Padres are one of several teams interested in signing ex-Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Their pursuit of Vazquez “perhaps intensified” after signing Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract last week.
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Bogaerts notably voiced his frustration with the Red Sox sending Vazquez — one of his closest friends on the team — to the Houston Astros before the 2022 trade deadline.
“The one for Vazqy, I mean, if you ask me, yeah,” Bogaerts told reporters in August when asked if he questioned the direction of the team. “No one saw that coming. You obviously saw a lot of stuff coming out, but it doesn’t kick in until it really happens. …
“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. 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 in that direction.”
Vazquez is the top catcher left the free-agent market as of Monday. The 32-year-old hit .274 with nine homers and 52 RBI in 119 games last season and helped Houston to a World Series title.
Per Rosenthal, other teams interested in Vazquez include the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, and Astros. ESPN’s Joon Lee reported earlier this month the Red Sox are interested in bringing Vazquez back into the fold.
If the Red Sox don’t address the catcher position this offseason, they’ll enter the 2023 campaign with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong as their top two backstops.