How Xander Bogaerts’ departure impacts Rafael Devers’ future with the Red Sox

With Xander Bogaerts gone, the future of Rafael Devers is the most pressing issue facing the Red Sox. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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As Red Sox fans continue to mourn the departure of Xander Bogaerts, they rightfully have plenty of questions about the organization’s future. One of the main topics of discussion now is how Bogaerts’ decision to leave for San Diego impacts Rafael Devers’ future.

Devers, like Bogaerts a year ago, is on the verge of playing out the final year under Red Sox control. The third baseman, however, is scheduled to hit the free agent market at 27, which is three years younger than Bogaerts is now. The Red Sox, like they did with Bogaerts up until Wednesday (when he agreed to an 11-year, $280 million deal with San Diego) have continually showered Devers with praise and repeatedly expressed their desire to sign him to a long-term deal. To this point, the team has not put its money where its mouth is.

So where do things stand now?

The Red Sox and Devers have engaged in extension talks since the end of the season and team president/CEO Sam Kennedy has even acknowledged that an offer was made. That offer was not close to what Devers is asking for. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported earlier this week that the sides “remain far apart on extension talks.” It’s unclear what Devers’ price is or what the Red Sox are offering. In November on MLB Network, The New York Post’s Jon Heyman said the Sox had offered about $220 million while Devers was asking for a $300 million deal.

The lack of Devers-related progress so far this winter, while discouraging in the eyes of some fans, is at least partially a product of the baseball calendar. The Red Sox entered the offseason with a long list of pressing, imminent needs, including Bogaerts and many other areas of the roster. The front office, while staying in touch with Devers, has been, up to this point, focused on talks with Bogaerts and adding other players via free agents and trades. The Sox have signed or agreed to deals with three relievers (Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Joely Rodríguez) and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. They have also made serious bids on a handful of other free agents and have been engaged in trade talks with clubs across the league. Those things became priorities over Devers just because they have to be decided upon now and the Red Sox still have time to figure out Devers’ situation. It’s a logistical matter more than anything.

“It’s definitely not a back burner topic for us,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said this week. “As we’ve said, until there’s something with him, nothing I say really matters, but it’s definitely not a back burner topic. Needless to say, when there’s other things happening in the business, really on both sides, for clubs and agents, it’s hard to buckle down on things that don’t have the same deadlines. But we view this as a top-line version item for us even though it is not an open market and even though it’s not tied to any offseason deadline.”

Bogaerts’ departure will impact Devers’ situation but not in the way some believe it will. Earlier this week, before Bogaerts signed with San Diego, a source close to Devers said that while Devers would be disappointed by his close friend leaving, Bogaerts’ decision would not make it more likely that Devers would want to leave Boston. Devers understands the business of baseball. If the Red Sox make him an offer he finds suitable, he might accept it. That has not happened to this point.

The Red Sox were reportedly willing to offer Bogaerts about $27 million per year over the next six years to return. That money will need to be spent elsewhere. Theoretically, some of it could be used to an increase an offer to Devers. The public pressure on the club after Bogaerts’ departure may lead the Red Sox to try to more aggressively lock up Devers, though Bloom and his front office try to make an active effort to block outside noise.

After losing both Mookie Betts and Bogaerts in a period of three years, the pressure is on Bloom to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself a third time. The guess here is that the Red Sox make a real play to extend Devers after the new year. Spring training is usually a time when contract extensions get ironed out, like in 2019 when the Red Sox were able to get deals with both Bogaerts and Chris Sale done shortly before Opening Day. Of course, the Red Sox have tried and failed to extend stars too many times in the recent past. We’ll see if this time is any different.

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