The Red Sox announced that they have recalled infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A, taking the place of infielder Yu Chang, who has been placed on the paternity list. Valdez himself revealed the news on Instagram prior to the official announcement, as relayed on Twitter by Christopher Smith of MassLive.
Valdez, 24, spent his entire career in the Astros’ organization until he came to the Red Sox as part of the Christian Vázquez trade at last year’s deadline. His minor league career was somewhat unremarkable until a big breakout campaign in 2021. Between High-A and Double-A that year, he hit 26 home runs and slashed .255/.326/.534 for a wRC+ of 122. That continued into 2022, as he was hitting .327/.410/.606 at the time of the trade. His line slipped a bit from there, as he hit .237/.309/.422 after the deal, but he still impressed the Boston brass enough that they targeted him in the deal and then added him to their 40-man roster in November to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He was ranked the club’s #19 prospect by Baseball America coming into this year.
The youngster will make his major league debut tonight, as he’s playing second base and batting ninth. The Sox have been playing a bit of musical chairs in their middle infield this season, which started when Trevor Story required internal brace surgery on his throwing elbow in the offseason. With Xander Bogaerts having opted out and signed with the Padres, the club had to turn to backup plans, moving Enrique Hernández in from center field to take over shortstop and partner with Christian Arroyo at second base. Adalberto Mondesí was acquired to be part of the picture but he’s still recovering from last year’s torn ACL. Adam Duvall was signed to cover center field but he’s now dealing with a fractured wrist. Hernandez moved out to center again for a while with Chang taking some starts at short, though Jarren Duran was recently recalled to bolster the outfield mix. With Arroyo dealing with some hamstring issues recently and Chang stepping away, it all got a little more tenuous, which required the recall of Valdez. Bobby Dalbec had been on the roster until he was optioned a few days ago, meaning he isn’t eligible to return until 10 days from that optioning, unless someone goes on the injured list.
Valdez is coming!
Tmi
The Exxon???
Good one
Who’s playing center as it sounds like Kike is going to SS?
Jarren Duran most likely
Rsox – I am super glad Duran got another chance, he’s been performing like a young Ellsbury. All the haters wrote him off last year because of the vax thing, but he’s showing why Dombrowski draft picks tend to develope so well. Same with Houck.
I really hope when Duvall returns he is the DH, keep Duran in CF and let Turner play 1B.
Agreed. He just looks like a completely different player this season. Defensively he still takes some questionable routes but he does appear to be improving in the field as well as at the plate
Rejoice, rejoice Enmanuel
Slider… amen amen I say to you!!!
Bloom strikes again
Does anyone remember Emmanuel the series on cinemax
whose – You’re thinking of Webster, starring 4’3″ Emmanuel Lewis.
I dont know why Verdugo didnt call Valdez off that mile-high popup. Valdez was backpedaling and the wind was wreaking all kinds of havoc. Shame he got an error on the play. Oh well.
Rsmith – Agreed, Verdugo should have taken the ball.
I wonder how long the Red Sox stay with Arroyo before giving Valdez more time?
I know Arroyo is better than he’s looked, but I can’t watch his ABs. The opposing pitcher can walk the previous batter on 4 pitches, and Arroyo will swing at the first pitch 2 inches off the plate.