The Boston Red Sox really fumbled in the bag with Xander Bogaerts, and it looked like he took shots at them after signing with the San Diego Padres.
The Red Sox failed to keep Xander Bogaerts around, disappointing many fans and Bogaerts himself. This eventually led him to opt out of his contract and hit free agency, where he agreed to a huge deal 11-year, $280 million deal With the San Diego Padres.
He seemed to take shots at the Red Sox for their failure to come to an agreement, and thanked the Padres for being “straightforward” in their negotiations.
Boston certainly did not proceed with the contract as well as it might have. Their best bet was to come to an agreement over the 2021 season when it came close to eligibility to withdraw, but they haven’t. They had tried to come to terms with him earlier in the spring, but it wasn’t nearly due.
They stopped talking about contracts altogether during the regular season, and although they said it was their priority to sign him in the off-season, they weren’t proactive enough.
Unfortunately, it appears Boston didn’t prioritize him enough, and now he’s likely gone for the rest of his career.
The Red Sox made a huge series of mistakes with Xander Bogaerts
The mishandling of Xander Bogaerts is sure to trickle down through multiple parts of the organization. Bogaerts was one of the best players on the team, leading the Red Sox in numerous hitting statistics and even leading the league among all shortstops in batting average (. 307) and on-base percentage (. 377).
He had a solid defensive season with a wFB 12.5. He was the only player on the team to be nominated for a Gold Glove Award, and although he ultimately didn’t earn it, it still tells us deeply about his ability. The Red Sox have had little success in 2022, but they probably could have gotten a much smaller percentage without him.
It also likely affected their ability to field Rafael Devers given that the two were close and often content with each other. Devers hoped Bogarts would stay in Boston and, as another Red Sox player, would likely drive a tough trade.
If the Red Sox don’t sign Carlos Correa this season, which they likely won’t, they’ll be missing out on depth, too. They have Trevor Storey to put him at shortstop and either Keke Hernandez or Cristian Arroyo to put him at second base, but there isn’t much backup if Storey gets hurt.
The Red Sox really created a disastrous situation that could have been avoided a long time ago.
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