Twins' Christian Vazquez: Making second straight start
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Vazquez (illness) will serve as the Twins' designated hitter and No. 5 batter in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
While recovering from an illness, Vazquez wasn't available for the Twins' first three days of Grapefruit League play, but he made his spring debut in Tuesday's 10-7 win over Atlanta, going 0-for-3 while catching four innings. Vazquez apparently checked out fine after the contest, so he'll be back in lineup a day later in a purely offensive role.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Scratched with illness
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Vazquez was scratched before Saturday's spring game against Tampa Bay due to flu-like symptoms, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Vazquez was set to be in the starting lineup, but he was replaced by Ryan Jeffers shortly before game time. While his illness shouldn't be a worry for his Opening Day status, it's reassuring to hear it wasn't something more serious. Vazquez should slot in as Minnesota's starting catcher after signing as a free agent following an impressive 2022 season across stops in Boston and Houston. The 32-year-old backstop slashed .274/.315/.399 with nine home runs, 52 RBI, one stolen base and 41 runs scored over 119 contests.
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Lands with Minnesota
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Vazquez agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract with the Twins on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Vazquez will immediately slot in as Minnesota's starting catcher following an impressive 2021 season across stops in Boston and Houston, though he was much better with the Red Sox. The 32-year-old backstop slashed .274/.315/.399 with nine homers, 52 RBI, one stolen bag and 41 runs scored over 119 contests.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Homers in win
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Vazquez went 1-for-1 with a solo homer in Wednesday's win over the Phillies.
Vazquez entered the game in the sixth inning and crushed a solo home run in the seventh to extend the Astros' lead to 3-0. It was a nice finish to the regular season for Vazquez, who came into the game hitting just .161 since the start of September. It was also his first home run since July 22.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Drives in two runs
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Vazquez went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 6-3 win over Baltimore.
Vazquez doubled and scored in the third inning before knocking a two-run single in the 11th. It was his second multi-hit game of the month and he's now hitting .143 with three RBI through 12 September appearances. On the year, Vazquez is slashing .274/.316/.394 with 50 RBI and 30 extra-base hits through 113 games.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Snaps hitless streak
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Vazquez went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Thursday against the Athletics.
Vazquez entered Thursday's start hitless across his last 22 at-bats. However, he snapped out of the slump with an RBI double in the fourth inning, knotting the game at 2-2. Vazquez has been disappointing since joining the Astros at the trade deadline, hitting just .233 with six RBI and five runs scored across 73 at-bats.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Starting in series finale
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Vazquez will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Tigers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
With top backstop Martin Maldonado resting for the day game after a night game, Vazquez will draw just his fifth start of September. The 32-year-old catcher is hitting .246 with no extra-base hits in 22 games since being acquired from the Red Sox on Aug. 1.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Not in starting nine
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Vazquez will sit Saturday against Oakland, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Vazquez doesn't appear to have claimed the starting catcher job just yet after moving to Houston at the deadline, as he's now been on the bench for three of the last four games. Martin Maldonado will make another start behind the plate Saturday.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Sitting again Thursday
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Vazquez is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Rangers.
Vazquez will be on the bench for a second straight game. He has gone 2-for-12 with no extra-base hits since joining the Astros at the beginning of the month. Martin Maldonado will start behind the plate and bat ninth versus Texas.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Gets Sunday off
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Vazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Vazquez will take a seat for the day game after a night game, allowing Martin Maldonado to receive a turn behind the dish. Through his first three games for Houston since being acquired from Boston at the trade deadline, Vazquez has gone 1-for-8 at the plate.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: On bench Friday
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Vazquez is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Guardians.
Vazquez finds himself on the bench for the third time in four games since being acquired by the Astros. The 31-year-old should take over as Houston's primary backstop at some point, but it appears he'll split time with Martin Maldonado for the time being.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Not in Thursday's lineup
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Vazquez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game at Cleveland.
Vazquez made his first start for Houston on Wednesday and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, and he'll take a seat for Thursday's series opener. Martin Maldonado will work behind the plate versus the Guardians.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Hitless in first Astros start
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Vazquez went 0-for-4 Wednesday against the Red Sox.
Vazquez was in the lineup for the first time since being traded to Houston, hitting eighth while starting behind the dish. He should overtake Martin Maldonado for the starting role, though Maldonado is still likely to get regular playing time thanks to his defense. On the other hand, Vazquez upgrades the offensive quality at the position significantly, as he's maintained a .278/.322/.425 line across 323 plate appearances on the season.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Not yet in lineup
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Vazquez will not be in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Vazquez was sent from Boston to Houston on Monday while the two teams were about to start a series at Minute Maid Park. Vazquez has been on the bench for his first two games with his new team, but that's presumably due to the fact that he's not yet settled into his new surroundings, as his .759 OPS dwarfs incumbent primary catcher Martin Maldonado's .582 mark.
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Astros' Christian Vazquez: Traded to Houston
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The Astros acquired Vazquez from the Red Sox on Monday in exchange for infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Vazquez should provide the Astros with a big offensive upgrade at catcher from No. 1 option Martin Maldonado without any major downgrade defensively. Maldonado's familiarity with Houston's pitching staff may allow him to pick up a couple starts per week, but Vazquez should get the lion's share of the work behind the dish and is unlikely to see a significant drop in his overall fantasy value as a result of the move. The 31-year-old, who is batting .282 with eight home runs and 42 RBI on the season, will likely be making his Houston debut against his former team; the Astros and Red Sox begin a three-game series Monday.
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Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: Starts at first base
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Vazquez started at first base, batted fifth, and went 1-for-3 with an RBI in Tuesday's 8-3 loss to Cleveland.
This was Vazquez's fourth start of the season at first base and third in the last 14 games, as Red Sox manager Alex Cora seeks to buttress the black hole that has been first base in 2022. The catcher is enjoying a bounce-back season, hitting .277 with eight home runs, 18 doubles and a .756 OPS over 77 games. He told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com that he got carried away after bashing 23 home runs in 2019, trying to replicate that production, which led to a lot of flyball outs and a .659 OPS in 2021. At the urging of coaches, he's returned to an approach that stresses line drives. That can be seen in his batted-ball profile, which indicates an increased line-drive rate from 22.4 percent to 26.8 percent and a decreased flyball rate from 28 percent to 21.9 percent.
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Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: On bench Thursday
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Vazquez isn't starting Thursday's game against the Rays, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.
Vazquez started the last six games and hit .222 with a homer, three doubles, four RBI, three runs and six strikeouts. Kevin Plawecki will start behind the plate and bat seventh.
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Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: Slugs fifth homer
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Vazquez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run and RBI in an 11-6 win against the Yankees on Sunday.
Vazquez tagged New York starter Jameson Taillon for a solo shot in the third inning and tacked on an RBI double followed by a run in the fifth. The backstop has now tallied three multi-hit games through eight July contests and is 10-for-34 with two doubles and a homer in that span.
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Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: In a groove
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Vazquez went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI in Friday's 12-5 loss to the Yankees.
Vazquez continued a hot stretch with another three hits. He's hit safely in 13 of 14 games since June 21, slashing .400/.464/.560 with five RBI and seven runs scored.
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Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: Sitting Thursday
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Vazquez will sit Thursday versus the Yankees.
Vazquez will get a breather after he went 2-for-11 with a walk in the series versus Tampa Bay. Kevin Plawecki will take over behind the plate and bat ninth Thursday.
