Boston Red Sox rumors: If Bogaerts and Devers won’t sign new deals
A tough question for the Boston Red Sox and fans is what the team should do if Xander Bogaerts opts out of his deal and Rafael Devers won’t sign an extension. It’s the question that maybe shouldn’t be asked or even contemplated at this point, but we’ll do it anyway.
First, it seems like the two sides may be miles apart in the negotiations or pre-negotiations, whatever stage their at or not at now. But it’s reality and the team has to deal with it.
Bogaerts can opt out after this season and his situation is more urgent for the team.
Yet, Devers can become a free agent after 2023, so his situation isn’t a whole lot different.
The reality is, the Sox could lose both players, arguably their two best, and be left with nothing more than second-round picks for each. That’s a dilemma. Let’s explore this in more detail.
The Boston Red Sox have two big contract problems ahead
No one wants to talk about the Red Sox possibly losing their two best players. Yet, the fact remains that they may do just that.
Both are All-Star caliber players. The loss of one would be a big hurt. Losing both would border on catastrophic, maybe. First, let’s look at Bogaerts. He is on a contract that allows him that accursed opt-out after this season.
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Since he’s done nothing but getting better since he signed an extension, he’s going to opt out unless injury intervenes and there isn’t anything the Boston Red Sox can do about it if he does. So what should they do?
Well, the first option is to re-sign him on terms that are mutually agreeable. But since most big stars are looking for mega-deals for 10 years and $200-300M and the Red Sox correctly are looking to avoid those albatrosses, it doesn’t look very good for him to stay on board.
If the team can’t re-sign him in short order, e.g. before the 2022 trade deadline, then they have to trade him.
Trading Mookie Betts who was in a similar boat has had mixed results for the BoSox. Some would have given him what he wanted, others say, no way.
The only real determinant will be what the Red Sox ownership and management feel. If they are set on staying under the luxury tax threshold and avoiding multi-year cement-bag contracts that almost never work out, then the only real option is to trade the player. That’s the choice here.
Those mega-contracts almost never work out and teams are stuck with an aging player with diminishing talent and a huge annual salary. If no deal, then Bogaerts should be dealt at or before the deadline. The Sox have a ready-made replacement in Trevor Story.
Boston Red Sox options with Rafael Devers
Devers is in a similar and it’s a bit less urgent. He may be an even better player than Bogaerts, maybe even of MVP caliber. He’s on board for at least another year.
The team has time to re-sign him. But again, if he’s looking to cash in on a mega-deal that’s not in the team’s plans, then they should sell high next offseason. As the old saying goes, you snooze you lose. Act fast and get the best return.
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Trade for young players with a few years left on their rookie deals or for top prospects. One problem, the longer the team waits, the smaller the return.
No one said there’s an easy fix to this. There isn’t. But when you survey the landscape, just how many mega-year and mega-hundreds of million-dollar contracts work out? The answer is, not many.
So, the only rational outcome is to have talented players in the farm system ready to step up and step in for the starters who leave or to get players back in a trade who likely will not be as good.
That’s the deal and the dilemma. The only solution really is to try to re-sign the players, set a deadline to do so, and if you can’t, look for the best trade deals possible.
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The good news is, the Red Sox actually do have minor-league prospects who may be ready to step right in. That’s never a sure thing but they have possibilities (a story for another day) and that’s a huge asset.
As they say around Foxborough, it is what it is. That is, these are tough situations to which there may be no great answers.
So, you just do what you have to do, as your budget (aka owners) allows, and live with it. What do you think the Sox should do? We’d like to hear.