BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 18: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox hits an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on September 18, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Although fans are already preparing for the worst, the Red Sox have made good on their promise to keep Rafael Devers with a major 11-year extension.
With Xander Bogaerts gone this offseason in free agency, Boston Red Sox fans feared the worst for star third baseman Rafael Devers. But fear no more.
On Wednesday, Carlos Berga, as confirmed by several other sources, broke the big news that the Red Sox agreed to extend The Beast’s contract with Rafael Devers, one day after both sides agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration.
Rafael Devers contract: Red Sox sign Superstar 3B to Monster contract
USA Today’s Bob Nightingale provided the firm details of the deal first, with Berga reporting that the deal would be an 11-year, $331 million contract. This deal will start in the 2024 season where he will receive the agreed upon $17.5 million for the 2023 season.
This is a huge deal for the Red Sox as they stick with one of their homegrown stars. Better yet, while stars like Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, and Bogaerts were signed in their early 40s on free agency deals, that 11-year extension would last until Devers was just 37, locking him in for all of his prime years.
Devers has been a dynamo in the squad since making his first-team debut in 2017 as a 20-year-old. Over the past two seasons, Devers has batted . 287/.355/.530 with 65 home runs, 79 doubles and 201 RBI. On top of that, he’s also greatly improved defensively, which was a major concern early in his career – even if he wasn’t a leather wizard in any way.
Most importantly, though, Boston’s Chaim Bloom has lost a lot of fan goodwill with its operations lately that this will help. Now the next step would be to take a more aggressive approach moving forward to help the Red Sox upgrade their roster further and return to World Series contention.
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