The Red Sox have designated right-hander Phillips Valdez for assignment, the team announced Tuesday. His DFA will open a spot on the 40-man roster for righty Josh Winckowski, whose contract will be selected to the Major League roster today (as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweeted). Valdez’s subtraction from the roster in Triple-A Worcester also opens a spot there for outfielder Abraham Almonte, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Brewers in exchange for cash yesterday. Almonte is not on the 40-man roster, however.
Valdez, 30, has tallied 16 1/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen this season, pitching to a 4.41 ERA with an 18.1% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate in that abbreviated sample. It’s his fourth consecutive season with big league time — the past three of which have come with the Sox. Overall, he carries a 4.56 ERA with a 20.8% strikeout rate, an 11.1% walk rate and a 53.9% ground-ball rate through 102 2/3 Major League innings.
Valdez has a decent track record in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 3.87 ERA in parts of five seasons — including a 3.06 mark in 17 2/3 innings this year. He was sitting at a career-high 94.4 mph with his sinker in the big leagues this year, although it also bears mentioning that Valdez has walked 14 of the 72 Triple-A opponents he’s faced this year (19.4%). Pair that with the 11.1% walk rate he showed in the Majors and with a whopping six hit batsmen in his limited MLB time this year, and it’s clear that there are some command issues he’s attempting to navigate.
The Red Sox will have a week to trade Valdez, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He can be optioned freely for the remainder of the 2022 season, but this is Valdez’s final minor league option season, meaning he’ll have to either make a team’s big league roster next spring or else pass through waivers unclaimed at some point — be it in the next few days with the Sox or down the road with a new club.
1 of the useless spots on the 40 man now cleared. Sox having to acquire Almonte.. himself of about as much use as a player as was Valdez a reliever, shows how deep the Sox are in the upper minors with OF, where only Rafaela and Granberg.. as a stretch himself are from AA up. The rest are no more than filler, or people exactly like Almonte, or worse as easily releaseables.
Myself? it’s time to play the sell off on a few pieces, expanded wild card or not. Hang onto Bogey, he wants to stay and slim chance something can be worked out, but see what can be done with even a favorite of mine.. C-Vaz.. Another who wants to stay.
Yep I agree. Also I really hope we can hold onto Vazquez, dump Plawecki and give Hernandez and Wong a chance as the backup
Unfortunately payroll flexibility requires tough choices today. I love Bogie but what will the cost be for him and Devers in 24 if both are on the team? If the team believes Yorke will be ready in 23, you improve your defense if Story goes to the other side.
@Dewey/ Yorke hasn’t played above advanced A. Doubt they see him as viable in 23 More like 25.
A lot of Ks this year. And he just turned 20. If he makes it AA in ’23, I’d be plenty happy.
Me too! I’m 2 hours from Hadlock Field.
Thank you. My bad. I knew he was young but for some reason I thought he was 21 and almost ready.
IRT to Bogaerts, we need a decision one way or another. CV isn’t going to get you much of a return, so holding on to him is not much of a waste of resources, and there is always a chance we could back into a WC. But we need to put our best offer on the table for Bogaerts, and then it is up to him to see if he wants to stay.
If he wants out, they need a Bogaerts Day, but we still need to cash in his value. A team like SD could acquire him to play SS, and move Tatis to CF when he returns. That would open up an opportunity for them to move Grisham. Someone like that could enjoy a Margot-type resurgence at Fenway.
I like Bogaerts a lot more than Betts, but these decisions require buy-ins from both sides.
That said, this could be a fun week. I’d prefer to compete, but if they don’t see a path to success, so be it. But if they trade one guy, they could trade everyone. It wouldn’t be just Bogaerts. If he goes, there is no reason not to trade maybe 8 other guys. Most of them won’t be major, but there is still value in some of these AA SP-turned-RP types.
@Joe Brady – I agree with your take here except for liking Bogaerts more than Betts. Personality wise, I agree with you but performance wise, Betts is the far superior and more valuable talent of the two, not that it makes a difference now with Mookie in LA.
I bet they let Bogaerts walk at season’s end. Trading him would be a PR disaster. Now that the QO is back, look for them to offer it. Getting a compensatory draft pick will lessen the sting of his departure. That said, I’d love to see them make a real effort to keep him.
Wilson Phillips Valdez – you get a 90’s pop group and two major leaguers to boot.
At least they didn’t sign their dirty brother, Exxon Valdez. That guy never cleans up after himself.
I guess Phillips Valdez is not the Juan.
T
The Red Sox have the highest ticket prices in the majors. They can afford Bogaerts and Devers both. Vazquez is a very good defensive catcher and a decent hitter for his position. Why give him up for someone who is not as good? Time for the Sox to either try to assemble a team that can compete or go back to looking like the team of the 50’s and early 60’s that were jokes. If Devers goes, so do I as a fan.
I’d take Vazquez on the Rays roster all day long…except I don’t think he hits as well against other teams as he does against TB! But having a stable catcher, even if he does not excel in any specific area, is gold. Trust me, I remember the days of Kelly Shoppach…
They can afford Bogaerts and Devers both.
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Every team can afford to sign both of them. But that’s fairly meaningless, unless the only thing you care about is making the fans happy for a couple of years.
But affordability is more a function of the percentage of overall payroll they consume. If you sign the two of them for $35M and $45M respectively, then you hurt the team’s ability to put a competitive product on the field.
You get to cheer for your favorite players, but then we go back to being just another .500 team. I like Bogaerts, but I would prefer to win.
They might not be “just” a .500 team without those two players, on top of the numerous other anticipated losses. They’re barely a .500 team as it is.
Shame the Sox/Bloom for letting this get so pathetic. Trevor Story should NEVER been signed so soon (another Tulowitski once out of Coors???).
They thought they had gold in the minors and just let these guys walk without any ramifications. They are discovering now is there golden minor leaguers, at a minimum,are still a couple of years away….minimum.
Omar Manaya used to say….prospects get GMs fired.
Caveat Emptor.