Red Sox in “heavy discussions” with Xander Bogaerts

Red Sox and shortstop Xander Bogaerts They meet this morning, according to Pete Abraham from The Boston Globe. He said the two sides were in “intensive discussions”. John Heyman from the New York Post.

Of course, Bogaerts has spent his entire career with the Sox so far, having been signed as an amateur in 2009. He worked his way up into the majors by 2013 and had a phenomenal season in 2015, firmly establishing himself as the club’s shortstop. He’s held that job since then, making at least 134 starts in every full season from 2015 onwards, as well as making 52 starts in 2020.

Bogart signed an extension with the club in 2019, which was generally considered team friendly. It would have kept Bogaerts in Boston until 2026, though it also afforded him the opportunity to opt out after 2022. Bogaerts has just continued to mash in the four years since signing that extension, hitting 82 home runs and producing a comprehensive hitting streak. 304 / .376 / .503 from 2019 through 2022. This level of production has indicated for some time that the Bogaerts would be out of action, and perhaps that is why the Sox are out and grabbing them. Trevor’s story In free agency a year ago. The club is said to have made a Poor attempt Another Bogaerts extension back in April, but that didn’t go anywhere and Bogaerts eventually snapped.

Boston’s chief baseball official, Chaim Blum, continued to insist that retaining Bogart was an A.J priority As for the club, though, the Bogarts seem to be getting more attention than other clubs like the Padres, Cubs, Phillies, and Diamondbacks. However, it is possible that there is now more urgency towards a reunion. As Abraham notes, there was a call last night between the Boston owners and the executives, the contents of that conversation may have led to today’s meetings.

Bogaerts entered free agency as one of the “Big Four” shortstops along Carlos CorreaAnd the Tria Turner And the Dansby Swanson. Turner has already exited the board, securing an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies. MLBTR sign Bogaerts will earn $189 million over seven years, or $27 million per season. However, the market has been generally strong so far in the off-season, with most players exceeding their expectations, dramatically at times.

The Sox have been primarily active in the relief market thus far, adding Kenley JansenAnd the Chris Martin And the Julie Rodriguez for their bull. These deals brought their 2023 payroll up to $157 million each list resource, with a competitive tax account balance of $177 million. The Sox paid the luxury tax this year but will still be shy of next year’s $233 million threshold even if they add nearly $30 million in the Bogarts deal. However, by moving in 2022, they have reduced their compensation if Bogaerts signs elsewhere. Because he received a qualifying offer and turned it down, the Red Sox will get a draft pick if he joins another team but their CBT payer status moves beyond the fourth round when it is just before the third round otherwise.

Should a deal go through, the club could potentially use a similar mix as last year with Xander short, Story second and Devers third. Devers is entering his walking year, which means a similar “will they get it done” situation could happen to him next year instead of Bogaerts. But for 2023, he will likely sign Bogaerts Enrique Hernandez Returning to the center field on a full-time basis, reducing the club’s need to worry about this place.