Houston brings back a member of it’s 2022 World Series Champion team to back up Yainer Diaz.
The Houston Astros finally addressed their backup catcher situation today, bringing back catcher Christian Vazquez on a minor league deal.
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Vazquez was a member of the Astros’ 2022 World Championship team, acquired at the deadline to boost catcher production down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Vazquez has always had an excellent defensive reputation, and still grades as an above average defensive catcher. It’s his offense that has fallen since 2022, but that may not be the Astros’ primary decision for making this move.
While Vazquez had always been a decent to solid hitter for the Red Sox, his limited playing time after being acquired by the Astros in a deadline deal that sent Enmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu to Boston had a notable impact on his offensive production.
Vazquez arrived in Houston batting .282 with a .759 OPS. However, he would find himself on the bench more often than not and his production dropped. He would bat .250 with a .585 OPS in 104 AB for the Astros in the second half of 2022.
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Vazquez, who has a career .262 AVG and .700 OPS as a member of the Red Sox, would never approach his Boston numbers again. After leaving Houston following the 2022 season, he has played the last 3 seasons in Minnesota, where the bat has been invisible.
2023: .223 AVG .598 OPS
2024: .221 AVG .575 OPS
2025: .189 AVG .545 OPS
Those numbers are actually slightly worse than Martin Maldonado’s numbers with Houston from 2021-2023, when his offense became a major concern as his defense began to slide. Maldonado, to his credit, could hit double digit HRs, twice in that span hitting 15 HR in a single season. Vazquez has 16 HR over the last 3 years combined.
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It would seem, however, that Vazquez is being brought back more for his defense, leadership, and ability to help develop young pitchers. Vazquez has a reputation for tremendous preparation work, keen awareness and a very high baseball IQ.
Houston has a lot of young and new pitchers on it’s staff, and Vazquez could be a boon to those players in their development and success.
Vazquez did have some key moments in the Astros 2022 Championship run, including catching the first combined no-hitter (and second ever no-hitter) in World Series history in Game 4 of the 2022 Series.
He also delivered a two-run single in Game 3 of the ALCS leading the Astros to a 5-0 victory over the Yankees.
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Vazquez is currently playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, and will join the Astros afterwards.
Vazquez should be considered the favorite to start the season on the main roster as the backup to Yainer Diaz based on his experience alone. Houston has not been shy about it’s reservations regarding Cesar Salazar’s inexperience and ability to perform at the major league level. Despite not yet having joined the team, Vazquez’ leadership and experience will likely be the deciding factors.
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