So much for the “progress” being made between the Red Sox camp and SS Xander Bogaerts.
Late Wednesday evening the 30 year old agreed to an 11 year $280M contract with the San Diego Padres. Bogaerts will now join a Padres lineup that already features Juan Soto, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr.
A 4x All-Star, Bogaerts has spent his entire MLB career with Boston after being signed out of Aruba as a 16 year old in 2009 for $410,000. He would quickly make his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League shortly thereafter.
The 5x Silver Slugger award winner would go on to make his MLB debut on August 20th 2013 vs. the San Francisco Giants completing his meteoric rise through the Sox farm system. Bogaerts and the Red Sox won 2 World Series titles together (2013 & 2018), but ultimately couldn’t come to terms on a new contract after the SS opted out of the final 3 years of his current deal.
After making strong, but unsuccessful, pushes for both Trea Turner and Aaron Judge at the winter meetings, the Padres switched their focus to Bogaerts and completed a deal in short order.
With the signing, San Diego’s payroll is now projected to be north of $250M for the 2023 campaign.
Meanwhile in Boston, Red Sox fans are now experiencing an eerily similar case of deja vu regarding a beloved member of the team, 2 years removed from losing Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a cost cutting move.
Despite regularly having one of the largest payrolls in the league, the Red Sox front office reportedly baulked at the figures that San Diego was willing to offer their franchise shortstop.
In the immediate future, Boston can shift Trevor Story back to his natural position at shortstop, however this creates a hole at 2nd base, while also representing a step backwards defensively from Bogaerts as well.
It also raises serious concern about the future of 26 year old Rafael Devers who can opt out of his deal following the 2023 season as well. With expectations that he could command upwards of $300M on the open market, reports indicate that Devers and the Red Sox remain far apart in their negotiations.
For a front office that’s been largely criticized for “penny pinching” by both fans and local media alike, Bogaerts departure is another harsh blow to GM Bian O’Halloran and Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom’s legacy in Boston.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.