The Boston Red Sox just lost Xander Bogaerts to free agency after offering him far less than the San Diego Padres. Fans are likely not too happy with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and there is definitely the chance that star third baseman Rafael Devers leaves next winter when he becomes an FA. He is very close with Bogaerts.
Recent reports state that the Red Sox and Devers are far apart in negotiations, with Boston hoping to sign him to a long-term deal. They apparently put $220 million on the table, but the slugger is looking for more like $300 million. On Friday, Bloom was asked if Bogaerts' departure will have any impact on Devers' future with the franchise.
“It’s not like we earmark a pile of money for each player and wall it off or put a label on it,” Bloom said. “Every situation is individual.”
Bloom also doubled down on the desire to keep Devers, who is a “homegrown talent”:
“I’ve said it, and I know we haven’t demonstrated this to the degree that we’ve hoped to, but we believe in the Red Sox building around homegrown talent,” Bloom said. “You want to do it in the right way. It’s certainly something we want to do as often as we can. Raffy, for sure, is somebody we want to build around. I don’t know that this situation (Bogaerts leaving) really changes that one way or the other.”
Losing Bogaerts hurts enough. He was a phenomenal shortstop and one of the best hitters in the American League. Watching Devers leave the Red Sox would be a knockout blow if they weren't willing to pay him, either. Sure, his chance to hit the open market is a year away, but the longer the organization waits to reward Devers, the more time he has to think about going elsewhere. That's a fact.
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