TRADE ALERT!
After adding Mancini, Houston Astros make another trade
Aug 1, 2022, 5:57 pm
TRADE ALERT!
The Houston Astros are trading for Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, per Jeff Passan.
The Houston Astros are finalizing a deal to acquire catcher Christian Vázquez from the Boston Red Sox, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 1, 2022
The Red Sox are playing in Houston tonight, so Vázquez presumably will just walk around the stadium to join his new teammates. And the Sox's sale begins.
The Astros were rumored to be interested in upgrading at catcher, and James Click made the move on Monday.
Vazquez is hitting .282 with 42RBI and 8 home runs on the season. No update on the compensation.
29 catchers have 200 PA’s, of those 29, Vázquez is 2nd in average, 6th in obp, 9th in slg, 7th in wOBA.
The Astros just acquired one of the best offensive catchers in the game. Have a day James Click. https://t.co/mwjHBBPtcc
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) August 1, 2022
The Texas Longhorns still believe in quarterback Quinn Ewers despite two poor games from the third-year starter who was briefly benched in last week's loss to No. 1 Georgia, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.
Ewers struggled through one of his worst career games against the Bulldogs, completing 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards with an interception and two fumbles. He was 6-of-12 passing for 17 yards on the Longhorns' first six drives, and was replaced by Arch Manning in the second quarter as Georgia took a 23-0 lead into halftime.
Ewers returned in the third quarter and led two touchdown drives. But the overall performance in one of the biggest games of the season was well below what was expected from a veteran quarterback who some predict as a potential first round NFL draft pick.
Texas never led against the Bulldogs and Ewers looked rattled.
Sarkisian has insisted that Ewers remains the No. 1 quarterback going forward.
“We have confidence and belief in him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he's going to come out and play really good football for us here in the second half of the season.”
Texas (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) plays at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1) on Saturday.
Ewers did not meet with reporters on Monday.
He had performed at his best in some of Texas' biggest games the previous two seasons. He was considered a likely Heisman Trophy contender after the Longhorns won at defending national champion Michigan in week two.
But he was sidelined by an abdomen strain in the first half a week later against UTSA, and the injury knocked him out of the next two games. He returned for Texas' 34-3 win over Oklahoma, but had just 199 yards and one touchdown passing and said he needed to play better.
Against Georgia, Ewers appeared hesitant against a fierce Bulldogs pass rush and missed several throws. The Bulldogs recorded seven sacks and Texas never led.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was arguably having an even worse game. He was 23-of-41 passing for 175 yards and three interceptions.
But after Texas cut the Georgia lead to 23-15, Beck answered by leading the Bulldogs on an 11-play, 89-yard drive to the final touchdown of the game.
“I think Quinn definitely can play better. We've got to continue to work on his pocket presence,” Sarkisian said. “But I also think we need to play better around him. You know, our offense isn't about one player playing well.”
Texas rushed for just 29 yards and and managed only 259 total yards of offense against Georgia.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. said the Longhorns will rally behind Ewers.
“We're always going to trust Quinn. We're always going to believe in Quinn,” Banks said.