Camila Sosa
The star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts is in a very important situation for both the team and the fans: his renewal has not been defined yet and everything indicates that the native of Curazao will use his exit option that would release him from his current contract with the franchise. The latest reports indicate that the 29-year-old star turned down the latest renewal offer from the Red Sox, and at a press conference today he was not optimistic about the short term.
Xander Bogaerts’ Statement
”It didn’t work, and we’ll see how we do in the future. I can’t do nothing about it right now. I got a season coming up in front of me and I don’t want to put any of my teammates in that type of distraction. They don’t deserve that. We had time to get something done. It didn’t work out.
Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts on whether he received a renewal offer.
Bogaerts signed a six-year, $120 million deal with Boston in the 2019 season, which includes an option to opt out of it in the 2023 season. The only way the Red Sox can prevent his departure under these circumstances is to get him to agree to a new contract restructure along with a contract extension — with an increased salary of course.
The two-time MLB champion is not the only piece within the team that Boston is trying to retain: third baseman Rafael Devers has also been offered to extend his contract, and, so far, he has turned down those that have come to his attention. Fortunately for the Red Sox, the Dominican will not be eligible for free agency until at least the end of the 2023 season.
The contract figures offered to Devers would have exceeded the amounts for which his countryman Jose Ramírez signed with the Cleveland Guardians (five years and $124 million dollars), but according to the latest reports, both parties would be far from reaching an economic agreement. The same could be happening with Bogaerts, who will turn 30 at the end of the current season.
The signing of Trevor Story (six years, $140 million) doesn’t help Bogaerts’ comfort about his future in Boston either, with direct competition for his natural position. What’s even more, Boston’s large crop of prospects also poses a threat of the team’s icon being traded if no deal is reached with the Red Sox in the middle of the season.
Xander has shown his refusal to negotiate during the season, but if Boston comes up with the figures he expects he will most likely accept. Now, who will give in first? Will the Red Sox part with him? The situation could skyrocket massively by the 2022 change deadline.
