The Boston Red Sox have been stressing fans out endlessly with Xander Bogaerts news, and Boagerts’ agent called out the franchise for their mishandling.
Amidst a season of a lot of disappointment for the Boston Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts has been one of the few lights leading to any success. The Red Sox finished dead last in the AL East, the only team in the division below .500, and had bullpen meltdowns nearly every time a reliever was sent in through the regular season.
The team was less-than-favorable with what felt like new issues arising daily, and some serious upgrades need to be made.
For a team that’s falling apart, it’d make sense for Boston to try to hold onto the good aspects to maintain any hope of success in the future. That’s the opposite of what they’re doing and Scott Boras didn’t hesitate to call them out on it.
There was no surprise that Bogaerts opted out of his contract to become a free agent in 2023. As one of the best shortstops in the league, he knows his worth and the Red Sox lowballed him back in April with a $30-million one-year deal while they signed Trevor Story, another shortstop, to a six-year $140 million deal.
Bogaerts has been with Boston since 2013. He helped the team win two World Series, and he’s done more than enough to deserve what he’s asking for. He’s likely to get massive offers from other teams in his free agency.
The Red Sox continuously claim that Bogaerts is their highest priority, but their actions speak much louder than their words at this point.
The Red Sox aren’t treating Xander Bogaerts as a priority
Boston should’ve re-negotiated a deal with Bogaerts back in April when he initially turned it down, but they didn’t. It makes sense that they wouldn’t continue talking about it through the regular season, as that adds stress and could distract him from playing at his best. But what about the time between the end of the regular season and Bogaerts officially opting out of his contract?
The Red Sox didn’t make it to the postseason. There was plenty of time to have such conversations, but they weren’t proactive.
Instead, they dug themselves into a hole and made it even more difficult to keep him around. Now that he’s officially a free agent, he’ll get to hear offers from several teams, driving a harder bargain than he likely would’ve before.
It was clear from the beginning that this was going to happen. As one of the best hitters on the team this season, one of two AL Silver Slugger finalists for the Red Sox, a four-time All-Star (including the 2022 season) and a Gold Glove finalist, it’s safe to say he’s worth a hefty extension. He should’ve been signed to one before getting the chance to hit free agency, but that wasn’t the case.
In fact, they signed Story as a backup option before they even tried to negotiate another deal with him. Meanwhile, one of their most notable players of all time, David Ortiz, called the franchise out for not paying Bogaerts, which should’ve been enough of an influence to do so. At what point does reality set in that keeping their homegrown talent brings one of the best chances of success?
It unfortunately seems like reality will never set in. They made the same mistakes in the past, most recently with Mookie Betts. Betts is now playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and doing great, while the Red Sox have faced a struggle with their outfielders and even went as far as DFA’ing veteran Jackie Bradley Jr. for not performing how they wanted him to perform.
They don’t prioritize their best players. They’re driving out great talent, and it’s sad to see them revert to the struggling team they were before the early 2000s when Ortiz and the rest of the team of that decade worked so hard to turn them into the most successful team of the 21st century.
There’s still time for Boston to sign Bogaerts to a deal, but they made that task much more difficult than needed. Luckily, Boras knows Bogaerts’ worth, but it doesn’t seem like the Red Sox do.